Ervenik


Ervenik is a village and municipality in Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. There were 826 inhabitants in 2021, and 97.19% of the population were Serbs, making Ervenik the municipality with the highest percentage of Serbs in Croatia. Population of the village was 243.

History

In 1636 the village was settled by Roman Catholics, who after the Cretan War (1645–1669) would be reduced to 7 families by 1697, steadily replaced by Serb Orthodox population. In 1928 and 1947 lived 79 and 47 Roman Catholic families respectively, but by 1987 were again reduced to only 7 families.

Culture and monuments

There are two churches in the village:
Also, in the vicinity of Mokro Polje, there are remains of the aristocratic Keglević fort, which was first mentioned in documents in 1433.

Demographics

In 2021, the municipality had 789 residents in the following 5 settlements:

Ervenik (village)

Note: ''From 1857 until 1961 the village of Ervenik was listed as two separate inhabited places, Donji Ervenik and Gornji Ervenik. The population from those years is the sum of the two villages.''

Language

Serbian and Croatian are co-official at the municipal level in Ervenik. As of 2023, most of the legal requirements for the fulfillment of bilingual standards have not been carried out. Official buildings do have Cyrillic signage, but not street signs, traffic signs or seals. Cyrillic is not used on any official documents, nor are there public legal and administrative employees proficient in the script. Preserving traditional Serbian place names and assigning street names to Serbian historical figures is legally mandated and carried out.

Notable people