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Vitaljina

Vitaljina is a village in the municipality of Konavle, in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia. Connected by the D516 state road, it is the southernmost settlement in Croatia, located between the Adriatic Sea and Montenegro. As of 2021, the population of Vitaljina was 153.

The village has faced attacks from numerous groups in its history. In the 16th century, raiders and pirates targetted the village because it was close to the Dalmatian coast. When the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) invaded Croatia during the Croatian War of Independence, Vitaljina was the first village attacked in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. The JNA occupied and destroyed the village during the war.

History

The villagers of Vitaljina were frequent victims of raiders and pirates in the 16th century. The attackers disregarded the authority of the Republic of Ragusa and targetted Vitaljina in particular due to its proximity to the Dalmatian coast.[3]

During the Croatian War of Independence, Vitaljina was the first part of Dubrovnik-Neretva County to be attacked by Yugoslav forces, in the evening of 23 September 1991.[4] The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and irregular Serb forces occupied the village before looting and razing it.[5] The JNA desecrated graves in the village, using them to store landmines and other explosives.[6]

On 1 September 2022, a waterspout of intensity IF1 made landfall in Vitaljina.[7] The waterspout damaged the local cultural center and a family residence, lifted roofs and fences from their foundations, felled trees, and destroyed a football field and building-in-construction.[8][9] Additionally, a landslide caused by the waterspout damaged a vehicle.[9] No casualties were reported.[10]

Geography

The area of Vitaljina is 11.9 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi).[1] The village is the southernmost settlement in Croatia.[11]

Demographics

The 2021 census recorded a population of 153 residents in Vitaljina. The majority were Croats and Catholic.[2]

Transport

Croatia's D516 state road terminates at Vitaljina's border with the Montenegrin village of Kobila.[12] The 27 Dubrovnik-Vitaljina bus operated by Libertas Dubrovnik makes regular trips every weekday from and to Dubrovnik.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b Register of spatial units of the State Geodetic Administration of the Republic of Croatia. Wikidata Q119585703.
  2. ^ a b "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements" (xlsx). Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2021. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2022.
  3. ^ Harris, Robin (31 January 2006). Dubrovnik: A History. Saqi Books. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-86356-609-7.
  4. ^ "Dubrovnik – Grad biser u hrvatskoj kruni" [Dubrovnik – The Pearl of the Croatian Crown] (PDF) (in Croatian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  5. ^ Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990-1995. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-16-066472-4. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  6. ^ Brautović, Mato; Brosse, Renaud de la (11 May 2017). Reporting the Attacks on Dubrovnik in 1991, and the Recognition of Croatia. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 140. ISBN 978-1-4438-9341-1. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  7. ^ Kühne, Thilo (1 September 2022). "Tornado: Vitaljina". European Severe Weather Database.
  8. ^ S., An. (1 September 2022). "Pijavica poharala konavosko selo Vitaljinu" [Waterspout ravages Konavle village Vitaljina]. tportal (in Croatian). ISSN 1334-3130. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022.
  9. ^ a b Popadić, Rade (25 March 2025). "Veliko nevrijeme na jugu Dalmacije: Pijavica prelazila preko naselja, lomila stabla, oštećen automobil" [Big storm in southern Dalmatia: Waterspout passes over settlement, breaks trees, damages car]. Dalmacija danas (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 25 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Video i foto: Pijavica protutnjala Vitaljinom, polomila stabla, nogometni teren, kuće i gospodarske zgrade, potpuno uništila montažni objekt" [Video and photo: Waterspout roared through Vitaljina, broke trees, a football field, houses and outbuildings, completely destroyed a prefabricated building]. Dubrovački vjesnik. 1 September 2022. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022.
  11. ^ Ostroški, Ljiljana, ed. (December 2015). Statistički ljetopis Republike Hrvatske 2015 [Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia 2015] (PDF). Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia (in Croatian and English). Vol. 47. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. p. 46. ISSN 1333-3305. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Dubrovnik – Vitaljina". EuroVelo. Government of Croatia. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  13. ^ "27 – Dubrovnik-Vitaljina". Libertas Dubrovnik. Retrieved 13 April 2025.