Rastoke
Encyclopedia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n municipality of Slunj
Slunj
Slunj is a town in the mountainous part of Central Croatia, located along the important North-South route to the Adriatic Sea between Karlovac and Plitvice Lakes National Park, on the meeting of the rivers Korana and Slunjčica...
. This old part of Slunj is known for its well-preserved mills and the picturesque little waterfalls along the Slunjčica
Slunjcica
The Slunjčica is a river, which flows through the Kordun region in central Croatia. It partly flows underground through porous karst and surfaces in the vicinity of the city of Slunj. At Rastoke the Slunjčica leads into the river Korana, which reaches this point after passing the Plitvice Lakes...
river, which flows into the river Korana
Korana
The Korana is a river in central Croatia and west Bosnia and Herzegovina. The river has a total length of and watershed area of .It rises in the eastern parts of Lika, creates the world-famous Plitvice Lakes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Downstream from Plitvice Lakes the Korana river forms a 25...
at this place. The Korana river originates at Plitvice Lakes National Park
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes National Park is the oldest national park in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. The national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina...
.
At Rastoke, similar natural phenomena are occurring as at the Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes National Park is the oldest national park in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. The national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina...
. This location is therefore often being referred to as "the Small Lakes of Plitvice". Both locations are interconnected by the Korana river. Rastoke is a place of autochthonous ecologic and ethnographic significance due to its symbiosis of natural and civilizational features.
The town of Slunj emerged around Rastoke and the branching of the Slunjčica and Korana rivers. The watermills erected at this place largely contributed to the economic development of Slunj as the center of the region of Kordun
Kordun
The Kordun region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The southern border of Kordun touches the Lika region...
.
Origin of the place name
Rastoke as a place name has different meanings. The term generally refers to the branching of rivers. At Rastoke, the SlunjčicaSlunjcica
The Slunjčica is a river, which flows through the Kordun region in central Croatia. It partly flows underground through porous karst and surfaces in the vicinity of the city of Slunj. At Rastoke the Slunjčica leads into the river Korana, which reaches this point after passing the Plitvice Lakes...
river (also called Slušnica by local people) splits into several river branches flowing across cascade
Cascade
- Ecology :* a type of waterfall or a series of waterfalls.* Trophic cascade, when predators in a food web suppress their prey, releasing the next lower trophic level from predation* Cascade effect , the triggering of series of secondary extinctions...
s and small waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s into the Korana
Korana
The Korana is a river in central Croatia and west Bosnia and Herzegovina. The river has a total length of and watershed area of .It rises in the eastern parts of Lika, creates the world-famous Plitvice Lakes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Downstream from Plitvice Lakes the Korana river forms a 25...
river.
Rastoke also refers to a certain kind of limestone called rastopina or rastok in the Croatian language
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
. This stone, called travertine
Travertine
Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...
or tufa
Tufa
Tufa is a variety of limestone, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from ambient temperature water bodies. Geothermally heated hot-springs sometimes produce similar carbonate deposits known as travertine...
(Croatian sedra), is a product of permanent natural activities created by natural dissolution and sedimentation of calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, coal balls, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime,...
. The flowing water dissolves limestone into calcium carbonate. These particles in turn sediment along the cascades where the water is being stirred up. The quantity of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
in the water plays a major role in this process of sedimentation. This effect slowly but permanently creates new rock along the river's cascades.
First mention
The first written document, in which the town of Slunj is mentioned, was written by the famous chronicler baron Janez Vajkard ValvasorJanez Vajkard Valvasor
Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor or simply Valvasor was a Slovenian nobleman, scientist and polymath, and a fellow of the Royal Society in London.-Biography:...
who describes the fortified town of Slunj, a bridge and a mill in 1689. The first depiction of the mills of Slunj dates back to 1789 when a copper engraving of the mills has been added to a travel report by Belsazar Hacquet
Belsazar Hacquet
Belsazar de la Motte Hacquet, was an Austrian physician and scientist who was born in Le Conquet, France. He studied in Vienna, and was a surgeon during the Seven Years' War. Later he was an instructor of anatomy and natural sciences in Laibach , and in 1788 was a professor at the University of...
, a writer of travel literature and author of the Oryctographia Carniolica
Oryctographia Carniolica
Oryctographia Carniolica is a four-volume work by Belsazar Hacquet, published in Leipzig in 1778. It discusses the physical properties of the Duchy of Carniola, Istria and parts of the neighbouring lands. It also includes an in-depth description of the Idrija mercury mine...
(1789). He also describes the waterfalls of the Slunjčica river as "the most beautiful he had ever seen."
Rastoke as individual place name was first mentioned in 1860 in a travel report by Adolfo Veber Tkalčević
Adolfo Veber Tkalcevic
Adolfo Veber Tkalčević , Croatian philologist, writer, literary critic and aestheticist.He received degrees in philosophy in Zagreb, theology in Budapest and Slavistics in Vienna....
, a priest, philologist and writer. He describes the "amazingly beautiful, greenish Slunjčica river that has created many beauties along its quite short flow." Tkalčević also mentioned the ignorance of many local citizens that did not seem to share the same enthusiasm for nature and rarely visited them. He also described one of the waterfalls resembling a flower bouquet and another one as huge Croatian example of the Roman Trevi Fountain
Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. Standing 26 metres high and 20 metres wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world....
. Stjepan Širola described Rastoke as follows: "The surroundings of Slunj are downright romantic […]. They are crowned by the magnificent waterfalls of the Slunjčica river by which even not outspoken nature lovers will be captivated. Indeed, Slunj with its romantic surroundings and the silver waterfalls of the Slunjčica represent a true nature gem astonishing even to foreigners."
History of Slunj
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
(Latin terra nullius), an uncertain border region between Europe and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Slunj later became an important stronghold of the Military Frontier
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
. The fortification of Slovin built by the noble Frankopan family was an esteemed secure refuge, around which the town of Slunj evolved. The fortress was destroyed in 1578 but rebuilt after that. A period of increasing resettlement and economic prosperity commenced only after the Treaty of Sistova
Treaty of Sistova
The Treaty of Sistova ended the Austro-Turkish War between the Ottoman Empire and Austria. It was signed in Sistova in present-day Bulgaria on August 4, 1791....
in 1791.
Slunj flourished during the short period of French reign from 1809 until 1813 when municipal streets, warehouses and mills have been constructed and as new vineyards and mulberry trees have been planted. During this time, Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
became the official language of the province. The house of the former governor general of the French Illyrian Provinces
Illyrian provinces
The Illyrian Provinces was an autonomous province of the Napoleonic French Empire on the north and east coasts of the Adriatic Sea between 1809 and 1816. Its capital was established at Laybach...
marshal Auguste Marmont
Auguste Marmont
Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, 1st Duke of Ragusa was a French General, nobleman and Marshal of France.-Biography:...
in Slunj still exists.
During the 19. century and at the beginning of the 20. century Rastoke has been known as the center of social life in this region. With the invention of electric mills and massive emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
after the First and the Second World War, the economic significance of the mills of Rastoke dramatically declined. In 1963, the Austrian writer Heimito von Doderer
Heimito von Doderer
Heimito von Doderer was a famous Austrian writer.- Life and work :...
completed his novel "The Waterfalls of Slunj" (German "Die Wasserfälle von Slunj") which is set in the 19. century. During the 20. century scientific research as regards the natural phenomena has been conducted in the area of Slunj and Rastoke. In 1969, Rastoke has finally been put under national monument protection.
The Slunjčica river and its natural phenomena
In the region of LikaLika
Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...
, within the massif of the Mala Kapela
Mala Kapela
Mala Kapela is a mountain in Croatia, part of the Dinaric Alps. It stretches in the direction northwest-southeast, and it extends from the mountain pass called "Kapela" or "Vrh Kapele" that separates it from Velika Kapela, down to the mountain pass that connects Otočac and Plitvice and from then...
mountain range and just beneath the Veliki Javornik top, lies the source of the Jesenica river. After only six kilometers this river disappears under the surface of the earth at Lička Jasenica and continues on a subterranean track for about 20 kilometers, as many other rivers in this karst
Karst topography
Karst topography is a geologic formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, but has also been documented for weathering resistant rocks like quartzite given the right conditions.Due to subterranean drainage, there...
region of Croatia. The river reemerges 6,5 kilometers south of Slunj as river Slunjčica.
At the passing of the Slunjčica into the Korana
Korana
The Korana is a river in central Croatia and west Bosnia and Herzegovina. The river has a total length of and watershed area of .It rises in the eastern parts of Lika, creates the world-famous Plitvice Lakes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Downstream from Plitvice Lakes the Korana river forms a 25...
river, nature has created a 500 meters wide and 200 meters long travertine
Travertine
Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...
barrier. This impressive layer of lime is a deposit of huge concentrations of calcium in the water, which accumulates when passing through subterranean channels and which sediments at Rastoke. Rastoke and the travertine barrier itself use to be separated into the "Upper" and the "Lower Rastoke" (Croatian "Gornje i donje Rastoke"). The lower part of Rastoke consists of 23 waterfalls, which fall about 10 to 20 meters deep into the Korana. The barrier as a whole consists of various small waterfalls, rapids and basins. The most famous waterfalls are Buk (English waterfall), Hrvoje and Vilina kosa (English fairy hair).
Apart from mushrooms and moss that flourish well in this climate of high air moisture the following larger plants can be found: Burr, poplars, aspen, willow trees, lime trees and alders. Already in 1865, the Croatian writer Đuro Deželić mentions crabs and trouts of high quality. Once even badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
s could be found here. Today, the porous underground of the barrier is again being inhabited by otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
s.
Due to its relatively short flow on the surface the water temperature of the Slunjčica is always lower than the water temperature of the nearby Korana river. The temperature varies from 6.5 to 7 °C during winter and the maximum of 16 °C during summer. In summer, the maximum temperature of the Korana river is about 28 °C. In case of high air temperature variations with regard to the water temperature of the Slunjčica, parts of Rastoke are covered by fog. This occurs quite frequently. The trees in the vicinity of the water are therefore frequently covered by dew.
The mills of Rastoke
All along the travertine barrier, houses and mills have been built in the unique style of this region, a combination of the architectural styles of the Dinaric
Dinaric
The term Dinaric comes from the name of a mountain called Dinara, on the border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.* In geography, it is used to describe the Dinaric Alps mountain chain.* In physical anthropology, it is used to describe the Dinaric race....
and the Posavina
Posavina
Posavina is a Slavic name for the region of the Sava river basin in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia that is adjacent or near the Sava river itself.-History:...
region. The ground parts of the houses are made out of travertine, while the higher parts consist of wood. The roofs are made by shingle or tiles. Due to high concentrations of calcium that regularly sediment at the openings between the cellar stones the ground parts have been covered by a layer of sinter. Thus, water cannot not run into the houses even at high water levels.
At its peak, Rastoke counted up to 22 mills. The first mill dates back even to the 17 century. It can be assumed though that mills have been constructed even earlier, while most houses for living have been constructed only at the end of the 19 and at the beginning of the 20 century. Some of them are still in use. They were all called by the names of the families that carried out this profession. Among others, the following families were well known in this business: Jareb, Vučeta, Žalac, Petrović, Holjevac, Močan, Kovačević, Rožin, Štefanac and Skukan. Many waterfalls carry the names of the mill owners.
The mills of Rastoke were driven by horizontally aligned paddle wheel
Paddle wheel
A paddle wheel is a waterwheel in which a number of scoops are set around the periphery of the wheel. It has several usages.* Very low lift water pumping, such as flooding paddy fields at no more than about height above the water source....
s. By utilizing a simple mechanism, water could be directed on to these paddle wheels whenever necessary. They in turn powered the rotating millstone
Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
. In order to accumulate enough power, a downward water fall of about three to five meters with an inclination of the wooden slope of at least 35 degrees was necessary.
Every mill had two or three, some even more millstones. Most millstones were used for grinding so called "black corn". This term then comprised the following sorts: maize, rye, barley, millet and oat. The best stones have been used for grinding so called "white corn" or wheat. The milling fees were about eight to ten percent of the delivered amount of corn.
Often there have been attempts of cheating and concealing real amounts of corn. The millers had the difficult task of detecting such treacherous behavior. Nevertheless, the relationship between the miller and his customers was generally regarded as sacred. The milling profession lasted for a lifetime and was passed on to the sons for centuries. The abandonment of this profession only happened in cases of severe disputes and used to be regarded as a great shame.
Except for grinding, water power has also been used for the pounding or finalizing of woolen cloths. These cloths have once been regarded as most important clothing materials. In former times, at Rastoke a traditional form of washing machine
Washing machine
A washing machine is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets...
has been used for washing clothes. The people of Rastoke used the same technological principle of today's washing machines: The clothes were washed in a rotating barrel with holes that was geared by the water flow.
Traditions and cuisine
Apart from milling, the people of Rastoke have also been known for their weaving of flax and hemp. The plants were grown by local people, soaked into the water of the Korana and then used for weaving. This was one of the main occupations of women, particularly during the cold winter months. The traditional costume of Slunj and Rastoke consists of these materials.The traditional customs of the region of Kordun
Kordun
The Kordun region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The southern border of Kordun touches the Lika region...
are firmly linked to Rastoke. For centuries, the relationship between the millers and the rest of the population, the grinding technique, the treatment of herbal textiles and wool, the customs, the language, the costumes and much more had its impact on the living conditions of the citizens of Slunj and its surroundings.
The bread from Rastoke was well known all over this part of Croatia (Croatian rastočki domaći kruh). It was famous for being brittle, sweet and particularly tasty. The women of Rastoke frequently passed on the recipe and hints for baking this bread to guests. However, the bread that was made in other places never reached the desired quality as if it was made in Rastoke. The secret of this bread was that it was made out of freshly grinded corn, an combination of wheat, maize, barley, rye and millet. This exclusive mixture was kneaded by using the water of the Slunjčica and housemade yeast for swelling. The flour had to be grinded traditionally, by millstones driven by water power, not by electric power.
Rastoke are also famous for its trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
s from the cold Slunjčica river. Originally, Lisac
Lisac
Lisac can refer to:* Josip Lisac , Croatian linguist* Josipa Lisac , Croatian singer...
and Šušnjar
Šušnjar
Lapovo is a village situated in Lazarevac municipality in Serbia....
, two autochthonous grapevine sorts were grown in this region too. These sorts, however, have been eradicated by phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
.
Changing events
In 1962, Rastoke has been put under protection by the Croatian Institute for Conservation. In 1969, it was put under national monument protection due to its constructional, historic and ethnographic heritage (Registar nepokretnih spomenika kulture pri Regionalnom zavodu za zaštitu spomenika kulture u Zagrebu). Anyhow, the overall architectural composition of this part of town has already been changed by the construction of the road bridge across the Korana river in 1955.
During the War in Croatia from 1991 to 1995, many century-old houses have been partly destroyed. Particularly the attempted blast of the giant road bridge across the Korana by Serbian
Serbs of Croatia
Višeslav of Serbia, a contemporary of Charlemagne , ruled the Županias of Neretva, Tara, Piva, Lim, his ancestral lands. According to the Royal Frankish Annals , Duke of Pannonia Ljudevit Posavski fled, during the Frankish invasion, from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs in western Bosnia, who...
paramilitary troops before fleeing town in August 1995 caused substantial damage on the roofs of the traditional houses. Many of them burnt down. The unprofessionally conducted detonation, however, caused only very limited harm to the road bridge. It could be reopened for traffic only several months later. Far greater and irreversible damage, however, has been caused to the great waterfall Buk. Local Serb militias, who regarded Slunj as their home region, severely damaged the waterfall by throwing explosives on it during the time of occupation. Part of the natural heritage has thus been irreversibly destroyed. After the end of war, the houses in this historic part of Slunj have been reconstructed so that hardly any damage can be seen today.
Tourism
The development of Rastoke as tourist attraction serves as a pilot project for the economic development of the town of Slunj and the surrounding region of Kordun. As a place of autochthonous ecologic and ethnographic significance, Rastoke has the potential of becoming an inland tourist center characterized by its traditional architecture, gastronomic pleasures and specific local cultural customs. Due to its favorable geographic location, Rastoke is again becoming an important tourist inter station on the way to or from the Adriatic SeaAdriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
. Accommodations in traditional houses directly at the waterfalls exist.
The region offers many activities for recreation, such as swimming, canoeing, rafting, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, hiking, riding, or even the visiting of caves (e.g. the subterranean limestone Caves of Barać at nearby Rakovica
Rakovica, Croatia
Rakovica is a village in south-central Croatia, in the region of Kordun south of Karlovac and Slunj, and north of the Plitvice Lakes. The total municipality population is 2,623 , while the village itself has 356 residents. According to that census, 91% are Croats and 3,58% are Serbs. Due to...
). Each April, Rastoke is place of a rafting event called RastRaft. Usually in June, an art colony festival takes place, the likovna kolonija. In August, the Festival of the town of Slunj takes places (Croatian Dani grada Slunja), which includes various festivities and sports events. In the vicinity of Rastoke at the Korana river there is a public bathing area. Rastoke also offers adequate facilities for congress tourism or seminars. Additionally to these cultural and sports events there are many religious events that are still being lively practiced by local people. Restaurants in Rastoke offer autochthonous trouts caught right from the Slunjčica as well as other local cuisine such as roast pork (Croatian odojak) or lamb (Croatian janjetina). Though Rastoke is distanced from Plitvice Lakes National Park
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes National Park is the oldest national park in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. The national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina...
by only 33 km, those two attractions have not yet been functionally linked.
Sources
- Meridijani magazine. Ozimec, Roman. „Kamo teku Rastoke“. Edition 9/2002, no. 67, p. 6.
Recommended books
- Žalac, Toma. "Rastoke. Na slapovima Slunjčice." Regionalni zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture, 1990 (Croatian)