Voćin is a village and municipality in western

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Bar ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

, located southwest of Slatina and east of

Daruvar Daruvar ( cz, Daruvar, german: Daruwar, hu, Daruvár, sr, Дарувар, la, Aquae Balissae) is a spa town and municipality in Slavonia, northeastern Croatia with a population of 8,567. The area including the surrounding villages (Dar. Vino ...

. The population of the municipality is 1,911, with 956 people living in Voćin itself (census 2021).

Geography

Voćin, a pilgrimage site, is located in a valley of the Voćinska Rijeka at the foot of Papuk Mountain. The surrounding area is notable for the Lisičine

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

, the special Sekulinačke Planine forest vegetation reserve.

History

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Voćin was part of the

Virovitica County Virovitica County ( hr, Virovitička županija; hu, Verőce vármegye) was a historic administrative subdivision (''županija'') of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of ...

of the

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...

. The church was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and rebuilt in 1973. During the

, on January 14, 1942, happened the first Voćin massacre - killing of 350 Serb civilians by the Croatian

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...

. The massacre was carried out as retaliation for partisans' action in

Papuk Papuk is the largest mountain in the Slavonia region in eastern Croatia, near the city of Požega. It extends between Bilogora to the northwest, Krndija to the east, and Ravna gora and Psunj to the southwest. The highest peak is the eponymous ...

. During the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yug ...

, the village's was the site of a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

by the Serb White Eagles, who killed 43 villagers, all but one of whom were ethnic Croats. A Serb civilian who tried to protect his neighbors was the other fatality. Overnight, between 13 and 14 December 1991, the village's 550-year-old late style gothic church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was destroyed by explosive charges.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, the Voćin municipality had 1,911 inhabitants. The municipality consists of the following settlements: Population of the Voćin municipality by ethnicity: Population of the Voćin village by ethnicity:

References

External links

Voćin, commune of Voćin
Municipalities of Croatia Populated places in Virovitica-Podravina County Slavonia Serb communities in Croatia {{ViroviticaPodravina-geo-stub

Geography

History

Demographics

See also

References

External links