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The Croatian Military Frontier ( or ') was a district of the
Military Frontier The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...
, a territory in the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
, first during the period of the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
and then during
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
.


History

Founded in the late 16th century out of lands of the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia, it was initially a nominal part of that Kingdom, to be transferred in 1627 to direct imperial rule as part of the
Military Frontier The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...
. The Frontier was located on the border with the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. In the Frontier zone, the king-emperors promised free land and freedom of religion to people who came to the area with the majority of the population being Croats, Serbs and Vlachs. In exchange, the people who lived in the area had an obligation to fight for the Empire, and to protect the land. In 1630
Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...
enacted the ''
Statuta Valachorum ''Statuta Valachorum'' ("Vlach Statute(s)", ) was a decree issued by Emperor Ferdinand II of the Habsburg monarchy on 5 October 1630 that defined the rights of "Vlachs" (a term used for a community of mostly Orthodox refugees, a term which apart ...
'' laws. It was known that the soldiers had to fulfill military service between the ages of 16 and 66. At the end of the 17th century, Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia expanded its borders so the territory of the Croatian Military Frontier was also expanded to include some former Ottoman territories in the east. In 1783 it was placed under the unified control of the Croatian General Command headquartered in
Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
. The Military Frontier was demilitarized on 8 August 1873. The Croatian Military Frontier existed until 15 July 1881, when it was abolished and incorporated into the
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (; or ; ) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was created in 1868 by merging the kingdoms of Kingdom of Croatia (Habs ...
(like the Slavonian one).


Geography

This part of the Military Frontier included the geographic regions of
Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, 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 t ...
,
Kordun The Kordun () region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora (Peter's mountain) mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within ...
,
Banovina Banovina may refer to: * Banovinas of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929 to 1941 * Banovina (region) in central Croatia, also known as Banija * ''Radio Banovina'', radio station in the city of Glina, Croatia * Banovina Palace, governmental buildin ...
and bordered the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
to the west,
Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
to the south, Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia to the north-west, the Ottoman Empire to the south-east, Habsburg
Kingdom of Slavonia The Kingdom of Slavonia (, , , , sr-Cyrl, Краљевина Славонија) was a kingdom of the Habsburg monarchy and the Austrian Empire that existed from 1699 to 1868. The kingdom included northern parts of present-day regions of Sla ...
to the east, and Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary to the north. It extended onto the
Slavonian Military Frontier The Slavonian Military Frontier ( or ; ; ; ) was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. It was formed out of te ...
near the confluence of the Una river into the
Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...
. Like the rest of the Military Frontier, it ceased to exist as a political entity in the late 19th century.


Sections

Croatian Military Frontier included three General Command () sections which were divided into eight Regiments: * Varaždin General Command **
Križevci Križevci (; ; ; ) is a town in northern Croatia with a total population of 21,122 and with 11,231 in the town itself (2011), It is the oldest town in its county, the Koprivnica-Križevci County. History The first mention of "Upper Križeva ...
Regiment N°V **
Đurđevac Đurđevac is a town in the Koprivnica-Križevci County in Croatia. History Until 1918, Đurđevac (named ''Militär Sanct Georgen'' before 1850) was part of the Austrian monarchy (Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia after the compromise of 1867), in ...
Regiment N°VI *
Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...
General Command **
Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, 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 t ...
Regiment N°I **
Otočac Otočac () is a town in Croatia, former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. It lies in the northwestern part of Lika region, in the Gacka river valley. The population of the administrative area of the Town of Otočac was 9,778 in ...
Regiment N°II **
Ogulin Ogulin () is a town in central Croatia, in Karlovac County. It has a population of 7,389 (2021) (it was 8,216 in 2011), and a total municipal population of 12,251 (2021). Ogulin is known for its historic stone castle, known as Kula, and the nearby ...
Regiment N°III **
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. Slunj has a popu ...
Regiment N°IV *
Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
General Command ** Glina Regiment N°X **
Petrinja Petrinja () is a town in central Croatia near Sisak in the historic region of Banija, Banovina. It is administratively located in Sisak-Moslavina County. On December 29, 2020, the town was 2020 Petrinja earthquake, hit by a strong earthquake wit ...
Regiment N°XI


Demographics

In 1802, the estimated population consisted of: * 195,300
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
* 180,800 Orthodox Christians In 1820, estimated population of Croatian Military Frontier included: * 207,747 Catholics * 198,728 Orthodox Christians According to Hungarian statistician
Elek Fényes Elek (, ) is a town in Békés County, in the Southern Great Plain region of south-east Hungary. Until the World War II, Second World War, the town was home to the largest concentration of Germans of Hungary, Germans in the county, with its popu ...
, in 1840 the Croatian Military Frontier was populated by 498,947 people and the ethnic structure was: * 258,454
Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
* 240,493
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
The first modern census from 1857 recorded the religion of the populace of Croatian Military Frontier: * 285,344 Roman Catholics * 253,429 Orthodox Christians * 5,433
Eastern Catholics The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
74.8% of the active population in Croatian-Slavonian Military Frontier were employed in agriculture, 18.63% were inactive soldiers, while 3.11% were working in industry.Mariann Nagy - Croatia in the Economic Structure of the Habsburg Empire in the Light of the 1857 Census, p. 88
/ref>


See also

*
Slavonian Military Frontier The Slavonian Military Frontier ( or ; ; ; ) was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. It was formed out of te ...
* Banat Military Frontier *
Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg) The Kingdom of Croatia (; ; , ) was part of the Lands of the Hungarian Crown, but was subject to direct Imperial Austrian rule for significant periods of time, including its final years. Its capital was Zagreb. It was also a part of the lands of t ...
*
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (; or ; ) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was created in 1868 by merging the kingdoms of Kingdom of Croatia (Habs ...
*
Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War The Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War (,
Kratka politicka i kulturna povijest Hrvatske
''Stogodišnji rat protiv Tura ...


References


Further reading

* * * {{coord missing, Croatia Croatia under Habsburg rule Military history of Croatia Military Frontier 1553 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy 1881 disestablishments in Austria-Hungary 16th century military history of Croatia 17th-century military history of Croatia 18th-century military history of Croatia
Frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...
Disestablishments in the Kingdom of Hungary (1867–1918)