Kistanje

Kistanje (Serbian Cyrillic: Кистање) is a village and municipality in Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, Kistanje municipality has 3,038 inhabitants of which 57.14% are Serbs and 41.31% are Croats.

History

Kistanje was first mentioned under its present name in 1401. In 1527, a Serbian Orthodox Church dedicated to St Nicholas was built in the town [http://www.eparhija-dalmatinska.hr/Parohija-Kistanje-L.htm] . Kistanje was a trade center of this part of Bukovica. After the Kuridža rebellion in 1704, the town was renamed "Kvartir", but in the 19th century it was again known as "Kistanje". The second Orthodox church, dedicated to Sts Cyril and Methodius was built in 1888. In the 19th and the first part of the 20th century, Kistanje was a centre of municipality. In 1960s, the municipality was abolished and its territory was joined to the municipality of Knin.

During the Croatian War of Independence, Kistanje was a part of the rebel Republic of Serbian Krajina until Operation Storm in 1995, where the majority of the population fled. A few years later, in order to re-settle "regions of special state concern", the Croatian government began moving Croatian Kosovars (known as Janjevci) to the town, settling them in new buildings and abandoned Serb houses. In 1997, Kistanje became a municipality again in Šibenik-Knin county.

Population

According to the 1981 census, the population of the town of Kistanje was composed of mostly Serbs and 5.3% Yugoslavs, while according to the 1991 census, the population was composed of 98% Serbs. Prior to 1995, out of the 14 settlement comprising the present Kistanje municipality, ethnic Serbs comprised the entire population in 13, with only Nunić having a small community of ethnic Croats that was still outnumbered by the Serbian majority.

Geography

Kistanje is located in northern Dalmatia, in the region called Bukovica. The municipality of Kistanje include 14 settlements:
*Kistanje
*Biovičino Selo
*Đevrske
*Gošić
*Ivoševci
*Kakanj
*Kolašac
*Krnjeuve
*Modrino Selo
*Nunić
*Parčić
*Smrdelje
*Varivode
*Zečevo

Notable People

Prominent individuals that were born or that have lived either in Kistanje or the surrounding villages include:

*Petar Jagodić Kuridža
*Vladimir Ardalić
*Mirko Korolija
*Simo Dubajić

See also

* Šibenik-Knin County
* Dalmatia
* Bukovica
* Serbs of Croatia
* Krka monastery

References

*Dr Jovan Plavša, Stanovništvo Kninske Krajine, Novi Sad, 1997.

External links

* [http://www.moje-kistanje.net/ www.moje-kistanje.net]
* [http://www.kistanje.com/index.html www.kistanje.com]
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/HR/0/Kistanje.html Kistanje - geographical info]
* [http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=1775000&Y=5435000&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=mercator&db=&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&in
]