Gorski kotar (English: Mountain District) is the mountainous region in Croatia between Karlovac and Rijeka. The article is about the geographic sense of the term For other uses including Regions and Regional, see Region (disambiguation. Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between Karlovac (( Slovene: Karlovec, German: Karlstadt or Carlstadt, Hungarian: Károlyváros) is a city and municipality Rijeka (other Croatian dialects Rika and Reka, Reka Italian and Hungarian: Fiume, Sankt Veit am Pflaumb is Together with Lika and the Ogulin-Plaški valley it forms Mountainous Croatia. Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast History Ogulin's history dates back to the 15th century where it struggled against the Ottoman Turks. Plaški is a village and a municipality in Karlovac county, Croatia. In Geology, a valley (also called a vale, dale, glen or strath and near or in Appalachia, a draw) is Because 63% of its surface is forested it is popularly called the green lungs of Croatia or Croatian Switzerland. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Through the region passes the E65 corridor, which connects Budapest and Zagreb with the Adriatic port Rijeka. Budapest ( also /ˈbʊ-/) is the capital city of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary it serves as the country's principal Political, Zagreb (ˈzɑːgrɛb is the Capital and the largest city of Croatia.

Lokve lake at Gorski kotar, Mt. Risnjak in the distance.

Geography

The region is divided between Primorje-Gorski Kotar county and Karlovac county. Primorje-Gorski kotar county - Primorsko-goranska županija is a County in western Croatia that includes the Bay of Kvarner and the surrounding Karlovac county - Karlovačka županija is a County in central Croatia, with the administrative center in Karlovac. The majority of the region lies in Primorje-Gorski kotar county including the cities of Delnice, Čabar, Vrbovsko; and the municipalities of Mrkopalj, Ravna Gora, Skrad, Brod na Kupi, Fužine and Lokve. Delnice is a town in western Croatia, the largest settlement in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar, in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. Čabar is a town and municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county in western Croatia. Vrbovsko is a town and a municipality in western Croatia, situated at the far east of the mountainous region of Gorski kotar in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county Mrkopalj is a town in the mountainous part of Croatia in the region of Gorski kotar, located south of Delnice and some 50 km east of Rijeka Ravna Gora is a village in western Croatia, located between Delnice and Vrbovsko in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar. Skrad is a municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county in western Croatia. Brod na Kupi is a village in the Delnice region in the west part of Gorski Kotar in Croatia. Fužine is a municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county in western Croatia. The part of the region that is in Karlovac county contains the Municipality of Bosiljevo and part of the City of Ogulin. Bosiljevo is a small village and municipality in Karlovac county, Croatia. History Ogulin's history dates back to the 15th century where it struggled against the Ottoman Turks. With a population of 4454, Delnice is the largest city of the region and its center. Other centers with populations of more than 1,000 are Vrbovsko (1,900) and Ravna Gora (1,900). Begovo Razdolje, the highest town in Croatia, is located in Gorski kotar at an altitude of 1076 m.

The population density of Gorski kotar is low, but the highest in Mountainous Croatia. As of 2001, about 28,000 people were living in an area of about 1300 square kilometers, which is about 22 people per square kilometer. Lingustically, the region is very diverse; in a relatively small area, all three Croatian dialects can be heard. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of Also, in some parts of Gorski kotar there is a considerable Serb minority, especially in the city of Vrbovsko where they constitute 36% of the population. Serbs ( Serbian: Срби Srbi) are a South Slavic people living in the Balkans and Central Europe, mainly in Serbia,

Geomorphically Gorski kotar is on the karstic plateau about 35 km and has an average altitude of 800 m. Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble Bedrock, usually Carbonate rock such as Limestone In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting The highest point is Bjelolasica at 1534 m followed by Risnjak at 1528 m. The plateau is a climatic barrier between the littoral and continental parts of the country. Littoral refers to the coast of an ocean or sea or to the banks of a river lake or estuary The border with the Kvarner region is defined by the Black Sea – Adriatic divide. The Kvarner Gulf ( Croatian: Kvarnerski zaljev, Italian: Golfo del Quarnero/Quarnaro/Carnaro; sometimes also Kvarner Bay) is a The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey Its southern border with Lika is not clearly defined but most scholars consider it to be the Jasenak – Novi Vinodolski road and people of Jasenak consider themself to be somewhere between Gorski kotar and Lika. Novi Vinodolski is a town on the Adriatic in Croatia, located south of Crikvenica, Selce and Bribir and north of Senj. To the north, the Kupa river is the border between Gorski kotar and Slovenia's Bela Krajina region. KUPA (1370 AM is a Radio station located in Honolulu Hawaii. The station is owned by Broadcasting Corp

Tourism

Popular tourist destinations in Gorski Kotar include Lake Lokvarsko in the village of Lokve. This is the seventh largest lake in the whole of Croatia measuring over two square kilometres. Nature walks are possible right around the lake. You can also swim and canoe in the summer and fish all year round. A world record 25kg trout was once caught in this very lake.

Other attractions in Lokve include Golubinjak Nature Forest Park and Lokvarka Caves.

Gorski Kotar's main town is called Delnice. Delnice is a town in western Croatia, the largest settlement in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar, in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. It's approximately 5 miles from Lokve. Delnice has many shops, bars and restaurants as well as train & bus connections to numerous local and national destinations. Delnice is a town in western Croatia, the largest settlement in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar, in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county.

The nearest airport to Gorski Kotar is Rijeka Airport (RJK) located on the island of Krk about half an hour's drive away. Zagreb Airport is also a convenient gateway to Gorski Kotar just over an hour's drive away. Slightly further afield are Pula Airport and Ljubljana Airport (each are about 2 hours away) and Trieste Airport in Italy which is about two and a half hours drive away.

Skiing is popular in several places in Gorski Kotar including the resort village of Mrkopalj. Platak is also popular for skiing although technically it falls into the neighbouring region of Kvarner not Gorski Kotar. Platak boasts some truly stunning views of the Adriatic Sea from the pistes.

History

The first known inhabitants of Gorski kotar were Illyrian tribe Iapodes who lived in the area from the 9th century BC on. The Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in former times by groups identified as The Iapydes (or Iapodes, Japodes) were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the They were submitted to Romans who built fortification lines from Grobnik to Prezid. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC In the 6th century the Slavs began to settle the area. The 6th century is the period from 501 to 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. The history of Gorski kotar is obscure until the 12th century when the noble family Frankopans began to rule much of Gorski kotar. The Frankopans are a Croatian noble family Also called Frankapan Frangepán in Hungarian, and Frangipani in Turkish. Frankopans initiated the first wave of settlement in the 14th century, colonizing first the eastern part of Gorski kotar, creating their stronghold in Bosiljevo. Bosiljevo is a small village and municipality in Karlovac county, Croatia.

In the 15th century, because of the Ottoman intrusions, the geopolitical position of Gorski kotar increased. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish This led to a new wave of settlement and the creation of defensive fortifications, which led to the creation of bigger centers in the region. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for After a short period of insecurity, new settlement began at the end of 16th century when many Ottoman escaped exiles, mostly Shtokavian and many of them Orthodox, came to this region. Shtokavian or Štokavian (štokavski is the main dialect of the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages They settled the frontier with the Ottoman empire - Gomirje, Vrbovsko, Dobra, Moravice, Stari Laz, Sušica, Mrkopalj and Lič. From the mid-17th century until the beginning of the 18th century, the most developed part of the region was the area around Čabar, where the noble family Zrinski had iron mines and metallurgic manufacturing. Čabar is a town and municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county in western Croatia. The Zrinski family known also as Zrínyi in Hungarian, was a Croatian noble family, influential in the Hungarian Kingdom during the Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Čabar and its surroundings were settled by a Kajkavian population from Carniola and Chakavian from Kvarner. Croatian Kajkavian dialect ( Croatian: kajkavski, proper name kajkavica or kajkavština) is one of the three main dialects of the Croatian Carniola (Kranjska Krain is a traditional and historical region of Slovenia. Chakavian dialect ( Čakavian; Croatian: čakavski, proper name čakavica or čakavština) is a dialect of the Croatian language After the failed Zrinski – Frankopan plot their properties were confiscated and shared among many other nobles, who began to exploit Gorski kotar increasingly harshly.

The most intense period settlement began in the 18th century with the 1732 opening of the Karolina road, which linked Karlovac and Bakar. Bakar (Buccari is a town in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county in western Croatia. Most immigrants were from Kvarner but Czechs, Slovenians and descendants of Ottoman exiles also came. Czechs (Češi ˈt͡ʃɛʃɪ archaic Čechové) are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic After the road opened, economic activity in the region flourished, especially kirijašenje- transportation of goods from the interior to the Adriatic. The most developed center in this period was Ravna Gora. In 1777 by decree of Maria Theresia of all Gorski kotar was incorporated into Severin county. Year 1777 ( MDCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. Maria Theresia may refer to Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria (1684-1696, daughter of Leopold I Holy Roman Emperor and Eleonore-Magdalena of Pfalz-Neuburg

During the Napoleonic wars Gorski kotar was part of the French Illyrian Provinces. The Illyrian Provinces (Provinces illyriennes Ilirske province Ilirske pokrajne Province Illiriche were lands on the north and east coasts of the Adriatic Sea which were The French built a new, wider, road Lujziana which connected Karlovac and Rijeka and is still in use today. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. This led to more development of Gorski kotar, and Delnice became the most developed center in the region.

After the war Gorski kotar became part of the Habsburg monarchy again and in 1873 the first railway in the region was built. Habsburg Monarchy (alternatively Habsburg Empire) refers to the territories ruled by the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, and then by the successor Year 1873 ( MDCCCLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common This led to a decrease in kirijašenje, which led to an economic crisis that forced many to leave the region. A crisis (plural crises may occur on a personal or societal level In 1886, a new administrative division was made and all of Gorski kotar was incorporated into Rijeka county. Year 1886 ( MDCCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

After the First World war Gorski kotar was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croato-Slovene ie Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene: Kraljevina Jugoslavija During the Second World war Gorski kotar was divided between Italy and the Independent State of Croatia. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Independent State of Croatia ( Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH was a Puppet state of the Axis powers. Citizens of Gorski kotar participated in a large anti-fascist struggle. After the war very popular several TV-series about resistance in Gorski kotar were made, Kapelski kresovi being one.

In the 1990s the building of the Zagreb – Rijeka motorway was resumed, part of it having already been built in 1973 (Zagreb – Karlovac and Rijeka – Oštrovica), and in 1997 Delnice was connected to Rijeka. Motorway is a term for both a type of Road and a classification or designation Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. See also Ostrovica Oštrovica is a location on the Rijeka - Zagreb semi-highway in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar In 2004 the motorway was finished by connecting the two directions of motorway in Vrbovsko. Vrbovsko is a town and a municipality in western Croatia, situated at the far east of the mountainous region of Gorski kotar in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county

External links

• Gorski kotar English language home page.
• Gorski Kotar images