Vrana (, or ) is a historic settlement located north of the Vrana Lake, from

Pakoštane Pakoštane is a village and municipality in Croatia, located in Zadar County. It is a tourist town with many gravel beaches and pine woods. Geography To the north of the town lies the Lake Vrana Nature Park, a popular picnic spot teeming with f ...

, a few kilometers from the

Adriatic coast The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to ...

, in

Zadar County Zadar County ( ) is a county in Croatia, it encompasses northern Dalmatia and southeastern Lika. Its seat is the city of Zadar. Geography Among the largest towns in the county of Zadar are: Zadar, Benkovac, Bibinje, Biograd, Nin, Croatia, Nin ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

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 ...

. Today it is a small rural settlement.

Climate

From 1981 to 2002, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was , on 14 July 1984. The coldest temperature was , on 9 January 1987.

History

The significance of Vrana to the medieval Croatian history was closely connected with three religious

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place (geography), place, set of Norm (social), norms, culture, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Ide ...

: the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

, the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

, and the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

. The arrival of these three orders in Vrana and their cultural and political influence was conditioned by the medieval circumstances in Croatia and by the Roman Pope. Vrana had become one of the most important centers of political life, especially in the period from 1070. After the pope's deputies crowned him as the king of Croatia, King Zvonimir Dmitar in 1076 donated the city of Vrana and

Benedictine monastery The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, they ...

of St. Gregory, as a sign of loyalty to

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

. Vrana was the first permanent diplomatic headquarters of the pope's deputies in the entire

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

region. ''Insignia of Croatian Kingdom'' were held within Vrana's walls for a long time. Consequently,

Coloman of Hungary Coloman the Learned, also the Book-Lover or the Bookish (; ; ; 10703February 1116), was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097 until his death. Because Coloman and his younger brother Álmos were underage when their father Gé ...

in 1102 came to the coronation in Biograd, as the nearest royal residence. In the 12th century, the church Priory of Vrana donated this property to Knights Templar. At that time, Vrana was fortified with

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

s and

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

s and a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

. There are assumptions that the present ruins of a fortified facility above the village were part of a fortified town with a church. After Knights Templars, Vrana was the property of the Knights Hospitallers from 1312. 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 ...

conquered Vrana in 1527, and it remained under their control for a century, before the

Republic of Venice 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 ...

took it in the Candian War briefly in 1647 and

Morean War The Morean war (), also known as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, was fought between 1684–1699 as part of the wider conflict known as the "Great Turkish War", between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Military operations ranged ...

finally. In October 1683, the population of

Venetian Dalmatia Venetian Dalmatia () refers to the territories of Dalmatia under the rule of the Republic of Venice, mainly from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Dalmatia was first sold to Venice in 1409 but Venetian Dalmatia was not fully consolidated until 1420, ...

, principally Uskoks of

Ravni kotari Ravni Kotari (; ) is a geographical region in Croatia. It lies in northern Dalmatia, around Zadar and east of it. It is bordered by Bukovica to the northeast, lower Krka to the southeast, and the Adriatic Sea. The largest settlement in the region ...

, took arms and together with the

rayah A raiyah or reaya (from , a plural of "countryman, animal, sheep pasturing, subjects, nationals, flock", also spelled ''raiya'', ''raja'', ''raiah'', ''re'aya''; , ; Modern Turkish ''râiya'' or ''reaya''; related to the Arabic word ''rā'ī ...

(lower class) of the Ottoman frontier regions rose up, taking

Skradin Skradin is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia. It is located near the Krka (Croatia), Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and from Split, Croatia, Split. The main attraction of the park, Slapo ...

Karin Karin may refer to: *Karin (given name), a feminine name Fiction * ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise * Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin'' *Karin Kokubu, a main character in ...

, Vrana,

Benkovac Benkovac () is a town and municipality in the Zadar County, Croatia. Geography Benkovac is located where the plain of Ravni Kotari and the karstic plateau of Bukovica, Croatia, Bukovica meet, 20 km from the town of Biograd na Moru and 30&n ...

and Obrovac. The Benedictine monastery in Vrana kept the crown of Croatian kings. According to legend, the Croatian Knights Templar buried the great treasure in Vrana. John of Palisna was a 14th-century prior of Vrana. Vrana was the birthplace of two famous 15th-century Croatian masters of the Renaissance:

Luciano Laurana Luciano Laurana (Lutiano Dellaurana, ) (c. 1420 – 1479) was a Dalmatian Italian architect and engineer from the historic Vrana settlement near the town of Zadar in Dalmatia, (today in Croatia, then part of the Republic of Venice) After educatio ...

or Lucijan Vranjanin or "Lucijan the builder" and sculptor

Francesco Laurana Francesco Laurana, also known as Francesco de la Vrana (; c. 1430 – before 12 March 1502) was a Dalmatian sculptor and medallist. He is considered both a Croatian and an Italian sculptor. Though born in the territory of the Republic of Venic ...

or Franjo Laurana Vranjanin. The theologian Thomas Illyricus was born in Vrana in late 15th century.

Attractions

* Benedictine monastery or

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

Vrana * Vrana Lake ''(Vransko jezero)'' * Han of Jusuf Mašković

References

External links

* http://hakave.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1419&Itemid=151 * http://www.templari.hr/slike/Vrana_i_templari.pdf * http://www.vjesnik.hr/pdf/1999%5C09%5C05%5C21A21.PDF {{Authority control Populated places in Zadar County Castles in Croatia Archaeological sites in Croatia Medieval sites in Croatia

Climate

History

Attractions

References

Further reading

External links