Vrbovsko


Vrbovsko is a town in western Croatia, situated at the far east of the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County; on its 280 square kilometers area, Vrbovsko features 60 settlements and a total of 3876 inhabitants. The town of Vrbovsko itself has a population of 1257. The Kamačnik canyon is its main source of tourism.

Name

It was recorded as Verbouzko on the 1673 map of.

Geography

In the north, river Kupa separates Vrbovsko from adjoining Slovenia, while the eastern border follows the line of Zdihovo, Liplje and Bosiljevo settlements and cuts through the river Dobra valley near Ljubošina. The western border starts at the Kupa gorge at Radočaj, goes around Razdrto and passes over the railway tracks between Koritnik Veliki and Palež, continues to Lužac and ends in Sušica-Jablan area. The southern border is the highest in its relief characteristics - it runs along mountain peaks at an altitude of 1000 meters or higher. Debela Kosa, Bukovica, Bijela kosa, Mirkovica, and Smolnik peaks are especially distinguishable by their beauty, forests and height. Towards the east, the border continues over Kozarice and Lombarda passes, and ends in the river Dobra valley, thus rounding off Vrbovsko area.
The geographical position of Vrbovsko that places it along the transit lines halfway between Zagreb and Rijeka is of extreme importance. Good rail and highway connections provide for quick access to Vrbovsko.
The Kamačnik canyon is nearby.

History

Vrbovsko was first mentioned on 22 February 1481 in a document freeing the citizens of Grič from tariffs in Vrbovsko and elsewhere.
After the Turkish invasion, Vrbovsko was eventually incorporated into the Austrian Military Frontier.
In 1710, the Sv. Antona chapel was built.
The construction of the in 1732 raised its economic importance significantly.
In 1765, it was removed from the Military Frontier.
In 1755–1756, original parish church Sv. Ivana Nepomuka, dedicated to Saint John of Nepomuk,
In 1780, Maurice Benyovszky received permission from the emperor to found a society to support the transport of goods along the Karolina road. Such societies already existed in Vrbovsko, Fužine and Karlovac.
In 1785, it was declared a royal free city, and was granted a city magistrate and court.
The canonical visitation of the Vrbovsko parish by bishop Aldrago Antonio de Piccardi occurred on 17 July 1789.
The canonical visitation of the Vrbovsko parish by bishop Ivan Krstitelj Ježić occurred on 10 July 1796 while Gabrijel Vukšić was parish priest in Vrbovsko. A 3 folio list drawn up by Vukšić survives in the archive of the Archdiocese of Senj.
In 1843, beginning with the 16th November issue of , there was a proposal in the Hungarian press to build a wagonway through the Jozefina then up to Vrbovsko and from there along the Lujzijana, but because of the steep grade from Brod na Kupi to Rijeka, they changed the plan for the wagonway to be drawn to Senj instead of Rijeka, only for the protest of both Rijeka and Karlovac to kill the plan altogether.
On 21 February 1852 by a decree of the Ban of Croatia and Slavonia, Josip Jelačić, a Chamber of Commerce and Industry was to be founded in Rijeka with jurisdiction over Vrbovsko. It was founded, and began to function on the 11th of March that year.
In 1860–1879, Matija Mažuranić wrote a 62 folio manuscript today titled Writings on the Building of Roads in Gorski Kotar and Lika, today with signature HR-ZaNSK R 6424.
In 1887, Sv. Ivana Nepomuka was demolished because of its state, the new church being finished in 1895, only to be demolished in 1901 and rebuilt again in 1904 as the present building, in Neo-Gothic style.
The DVD Vrbovsko was founded in 1890. Like most volunteer fire departments in the region, it has taken on a larger societal role than its city counterparts, to the point of having its own brass band. Today the DVD Vrbovsko is one of the components of the VZ grada Vrbovsko. The current VZ commander is Mario Mužević, and the DVD commander is Dalibor Mareković.
In 1900, the cemetery chapel Gospe Karmelske, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, was built in 1900.

WWI

In September 1914, the epidemic of an undetermined disease led Austria to prohibit the import of swine from Vrbovsko kotar.

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

A 22 December 1939 decision as part of agrarian reforms by Ban Šubašić to confiscate the forest property in Vrbovsko and surroundings of the Thurn and Taxis family, Kálmán Ghyczy and Nikola Petrović resulted in a legal dispute known as the Thurn and Taxis Affair, in part because of the relative status of the family and in part because of the proximity to the Italian border.

WWII

1941

During WWII, 273 people were killed from the kotar of Vrbovsko, of which 101 by Croats, 56 by Italians, 48 by Serbs, 12 by Germans and 12 by Bulgarians.
On 13 April 1941, Ante Pavelić passed through Vrbovsko on his way to Zagreb, awaited by a number of Ustaše who cheered him on. Along with Ravna Gora and Mrkopalj, Vrbovsko was one of the only places in Gorski Kotar that already had Ustaše.
In May, the Ustaše began arresting prominent Serbian men in Vrbovsko, focusing on known or suspected JRZ and Chetnik members or sympathisers.
From 28 May through 1 June, about numerous arrests were made in Ogulin, Vrbovsko and the surrounding areas. Most were arrested at the market or returning from it. The arrested were then held in the Ogulin castle. This was in connection with a visit of Lovre Sušić to Ogulin, ostensibly for his security. Few survived this arrest.
On 3 June, an Ustaša rally was held in Vrbovsko, attended by 3000, concurrent with a 12,000 strong rally in Ogulin.
On 1 July, Pavelić founded the with its seat in Ogulin, by merging Ogulin with Slunj, Vrbovsko and Delnice.
In July, when the deportations of Serbs to accommodate the Slovenes of the population exchange commenced, the logornik in Vrbovsko informed his superiors that all the Serbs were in Moravice apart from two retired Serb gunmen in Severin na Kupi. For the temporary accommodation of Slovenes in Vrbovsko, the barracks for railway construction were offered for the housing of 150 people, the Vatrogasni dom for 100 people, the Narodni dom for 50 people and the depot of the match factory for 50 people.

1942

At 10:00 on 24 February 1942, a group of about 300 "Communists" with automatic weapons arrived in the area of Ogulin and above Hreljin and Kučaj. Until 14:00, they blocked the road to Ogulin, after which they retreated to Gomirje. For 3–4 days they appeared from time to time in the area of Ogulin, Hreljin, Vrbovsko and Gomirje, then Gornje Dubrave, Gomirje and Jasenak.
On 4–5 June, rebels carried out a number of minor thefts in the Vrbovsko area.
At 5:00 on 19 June, the train tracks between Hrvatske Moravice and Vrbovsko were disassembled. When an Italian military patrol happened upon the tracks, it was attacked with a machine gun from the forest, which killed one soldier. The attack on the patrol was then repelled.
When the German and Italian Zones of Influence were revised on 24 June 1942, Vrbovsko fell in, administered civilly by Croatia but militarily by Italy.

1945

At the behest of Dušan Rašković, Ruđe Miloš deacon of the Vrbovsko deaconate and parish priest of Divjake, Rikard Valić honorary president of the spiritual see and parish priest of Vrbovsko, and others gathered in Delnice signed a document recognising the JNOF on 21 February 1945, selecting a delegation to represent the priesthood before their authority.

SFR Yugoslavia

At the end of the war, Vrbovsko's municipal notary and legal representative of, Matija Paviša, was in Ogulin with Ante Pocrnić. Paviša warned Pocrnić not to return to Vrbovsko, which he did anyway, being mobilised by the Partisans and sent off to the Istrian front, where he died. Fearing retribution, Paviša retreated with the Ustaša column towards Austria, avoiding the Bleiburg repatriations, however, because he became ill with the flu on the way and returned to Vrbovsko. There, he was arrested and put on trial before judge Floršić, a Jewish judge of the new administration, who merely sentenced him to temporary house arrest until the political situation calmed down. After rehabilitation, Paviša served as a misdemeanor judge and then as the municipality secretary until retirement.

Recent

In the 2010s, the Presvete Euharistije chapel was built in the basement of the parish priest's house.
On 30 August 2012, a leak in Vrbovsko forced a water shutoff in the town.
Vrbovsko was hit by the 2014 Dinaric ice storm. From 31 January to 2 February 2014, while S and SW geostrophic wind dominated, freezing rain fell on Gorski Kotar, glazing the entire region. It wrecked roofs, power lines an forests, causing power loss for about 14,000 households households in Gorski Kotar, or about 80% of its population. Because of power lines falling on the A6, the highway was closed in of Rijeka between Bosiljevo and Kikovica, and between Kikovica and Delnice in the direction of Zagreb. It took about 10 days to restore essential infrastructure to the region, and within months electricity was back in most of its former range, but at a cost of about 84.4 million HRK to HEP, whose Elektroprimorje Rijeka branch was responsible for restoring electricity in most of the affected area. At the time it was the largest peacetime damage since the Secession from Yugoslavia, even without counting the forestry losses. Thanks to relatively mild ice accumulation, the Šumarija Vrbovsko fared well relative to western forestry branches, losing mainly diseased and very poorly anchored trees. Clearing blocked forestry roads and forest paths would take years, and thanks to the declining population some were never cleared. A dedicated winter service base of the Komunalac Vrbovsko was set up in Vrbovsko to assist with repairs; alongside the local volunteer firefighters and Luko d.o.o. they had been doing most of the initial work in clearing the roads. Most of Vrbovsko's municipal area was left without electricity, and because of that loss of electricity the pumps for water supply stopped working, including the one at Ribnjak in Gladi, leaving 85% of town residents without tap water as well. During the day of the 3rd, HEP restored power to Ribnjak with an engine–generator, and in the evening electricity was restored to most of Vrbovsko itself. Some remained without power for 5 days.
On 12 December 2017, a severe wind hit Vrbovsko, leaving its elementary school without a roof and blocking traffic in the area.
On 8 June 2018, the Lovnik water storage unit was found to have a coliform bacteria concentration of 391/100ml, while the Hambarište water storage unit had a concentration of 570/100ml, and both Escherichia coli and Enterococcus bacteria were present. The same day, hail up to in diameter fell on the territory of Vrbovsko, although worse fell in Blaževci, Štefanci and in White Carniola.
In 2021, the old Mance house was reconstructed, an infant day care centre was added to the kindergaten "Bambi" in Vrbovsko and a recycling yard was built.
In late 2021, a new water tank Senjsko II was installed
In 2023, many of Vrbovsko's yet-unpaved streets were asphalted: Jelovac, Gladi – Mlinari, Dragovići, Komlenići, Kovačevići toward Zelići, and Gvozdeni.