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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. |
