In the
immediate vicinity of Lake Vrana, near Biograd, there is a small town called Vrana . Although
it is a settlement with less than 1,000 inhabitants, this place has a
rich history . A Benedictine monastery dedicated to St. Gregory
was built in Vrana in the 9th century. The old town of Vrana also owned
large surrounding land holdings, and the town housed the relics of St. Gregory
as well as a rich treasury with insignia of the Kingdom of Croatia . In
the 11th century, King Dmitar Zvonimir ceded Vrana and all its possessions to
the Pope, making Vrana the first permanent papal residence on the
eastern Adriatic . From the 12th to the 13th century, the
Templars lived in Vrana and fortified the old town and monastery. The
peaceful life of the people of Vranje ends in 1537 when the Turkish
army conquers Vranje . A Muslim population is settling in Vrana
and public baths, water supply, a school and mosques are being built. In
the second half of the 17th century, after approximately 150 years of Turkish
rule, the local Christian population rebelled and succeeded in freeing
Vrana from the Turks . Numerous Turkish buildings were destroyed,
and after that Vrana never again reached its former size and importance.
In the area of Vrana today there are ruins of a medieval town on a hill above the modern settlement. The ruins are overgrown and not maintained. The most famous and best-preserved building from the Turkish era is the Maškovića han . Jusuf Mašković was a native of Vranje who became a high dignitary at the sultan's court and admiral of the Turkish fleet. In Vrana, he had a luxurious residence built for himself with a bath (hammam), which was not completed because Mašković had been executed in the meantime. After many years of decay, the han was restored and turned into a hotel with a restaurant and a museum. Every year in Vrana, the Days of the Knights of Vrana are held , where battles between the people of Vrana and the Turks are staged, accompanied by various other events.
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