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Karlovac County

The Karlovac county is of medium size and is relatively less inhabited. It is situated in the area between central and mountainous Croatia, in the narrowest section of the land state territory known as Karlovacka vrata. Kordun and the river regions of Kupa, Korana, Mreznica and Dobra, as well as the city of Karlovac were in the past areas of great interest, due to their strategic and military importance, this claim is supported by the existence of many defence installations.

Karlovac stands on four rivers and its centre is a fort resembling a six-pointed star that the Austro-Hungarian tsar Carl (Karlovac was named after him) ordered to be built in order to defend the area from Turkish attacks in 1579. Several baroque and classicist buildings have been preserved within the fort, while in the county region forts and castles have been preserved, best known of these are Dubovac and Ozalj.

Kordun, named after 'cordon' or a defensive strip of land (Dreznik - Slunj - Blagaj - Cetingrad) has sadly not managed to avoid the meaning of its name recently, either. A large chunk of it had been occupied for four years during Serb aggression, while the front-line passed through Karlovac itself, the very traffic centre joining the Adriatic with the Danube region. The county is unique in view of its many rivers and brooks with white waters Dobra and Korana being ideal for rafting and kayaking. The area is abundant in caves (Varlovka, Dula-Medvednica, Jopica and Tounje) and boasts with the only rain forest in this part of Europe - Corkova uvala.