Varivode ( sr-cyr, Вариводе) is a village in the municipality of

Kistanje Kistanje (, sr-Cyrl, Кистање) is a village and municipality in Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. It is located in Bukovica, a region of the Dalmatian Hinterland. Geography Kistanje is located in the microregion of Bukovica, in the Dal ...

Šibenik-Knin County Šibenik-Knin County (; ) is a county in southern Croatia, located in the north-central part of Dalmatia. The biggest city in the county is Šibenik, which also serves as county seat. Other notable towns in the county are Knin, Vodice, Drniš a ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. In the aftermath of

Operation Storm Operation Storm ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Operacija Oluja, separator=" / ", Операција Олуја) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory f ...

in 1995 the village was the site of the Varivode massacre.

History

Prior to the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

(1991–1995), Varivode was part of the municipality of

Knin Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...

, and according to the census of 1991, it had a population of 477. During the war, Varivode and its surroundings were occupied by the self-proclaimed

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Република Српска Крајина, Republika Srpska Krajina, separator=" / ", ; abbr. РСК / RSK), known as the Serbian Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српск� ...

. On 28 September 1995, almost two months after

, men in Croatian military uniforms and armed civilians killed between 9 and 12 elderly Serb civilians, some of whom were disabled. In 2010, a monument was erected in the village to commemorate the civilians killed in the massacre. It was damaged in April 2010. The monument was later reconstructed, and in October 2010, inaugurated in the presence of the

President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the president of the Republic of Croatia (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the country and abroad. The president ...

Ivo Josipović Ivo Josipović (; born 28 August 1957) is a Croatia, Croatian Academic staff, academic, jurist, composer, and politician who served as the president of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communist ...

, and Serbia's Minister for the Diaspora,

Mlađan Đorđević Mlađan Đorđević (; born 1963) is a Serbian politician and businessman who served as an Advisor for Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, Kosovo and Metohija to the 3rd President of Serbia, Boris Tadić as well as the Minister without por ...

. The inscription on the monument reads: "To the innocent and brutally murdered villagers of Varivode from 28 September 1995" ( sr-Cyrl, Недужним и мучки убијеним мјештанима Варивода 28. 9. 1995.). In 2020, the

Prime Minister of Croatia The prime minister of Croatia, officially the president of the government of the Republic of Croatia (), is Croatia's head of government, and is ''de facto'' the most powerful and influential state officeholder in the Croatian system of governme ...

Andrej Plenković Andrej Plenković ( ; born 8 April 1970) is a Croatian politician serving as the Prime Minister of Croatia, prime minister of Croatia since October 2016. He was previously one of eleven List of members of the European Parliament for Croatia, 201 ...

, and representatives of the country’s Serb minority commemorated the 25th anniversary of the massacre. Every year during the summer months, Varivode receives Serbs from around the world who return to their place of origin. The village's patron saint is St. Elias (), celebrated on 2 August.

Demographics

In the

2011 Croatian census Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleve ...

, Varivode had 124 inhabitants. According to

2001 Croatian census The demographic characteristics of the population of Croatia are known through censuses, normally conducted in ten-year intervals and analysed by various statistical bureaus since the 1850s. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics has performed this ...

, Varivode had 93 inhabitants. In 1991, there were 477 inhabitants, out of whom 472 were ethnic

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 ...

.
:

References

Populated places in Šibenik-Knin County Serb communities in Croatia {{ŠibenikKnin-geo-stub

History

Demographics

See also

References