| Losinj, in Croatia, is an island in the western part of the Kvarner Archipelago, with a population of about 8,000. The photographs seen here are of a fortress dating from 1445, built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to protect the harbour against pirate attacks from the
sea. Today, the fortress is used as a museum and was the motif for the coat of arms of the town of Veli
Losinj. Croats, believed to be an entirely Slavic people from Ukraine, settled in present-day Croatia in the 6th
century. In 1091 they entered into the Pacta Conventa, submitting themselves to Hungarian
rule. After World War I and the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Croatia joined the Kingdom of
Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes which became Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II it became the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia under the communistic control of Marshall Tito. After Tito’s
death, the fall of communism and subsequent multi-party elections in 1990, tension between Croats and Serbs increased until a bloody and horrific civil war broke out in 1991. Wars and conflicts affected all six Yugoslav republics to a greater or lesser degree during the following 10
years. |
