Isolated and Lost Settlements in Banija Region

Filip Škiljan, PhD, Ana Perinić Lewis, PhD and Lana Peternel, PhD are the authors of the chapter “Isolated and Lost Settlements in Banija Region”, which was published in the Conference Proceedings “Continental Croatia: Historical Context, Current Affairs and Future Perspectives” (1).

Abstract: Rural settlements in Continental Croatia are characterized by severe depopulation, traffic isolation, and a large number of abandoned and empty settlements. The Banija Region has been particularly affected by severe depopulation for decades. Of the 195 uninhabited settlements in Croatia in 2021, as many as 13 are in the Banija Region. Uninhabited and abandoned settlements, where no one lives anymore next to the ruins or traces of houses and gardens, with devastated or destroyed infrastructure, non-existent public transport, and completely neglected rural landscapes testify to demographic collapse, extinction, and desertion. Various reasons (migrations, wars and disasters, economic and political reasons) have led to social and cultural isolation. In this paper, we will show empty and abandoned settlements (Baturi, Bišćanovo, Brubno, Donja Trstenica, Donji Selkovac, Gornje Jame, Turčenica, Kobiljak, Ostojići, Zut, Bukovica, and Mala Vranovina) by documenting the devastated and barely visible remains of material culture. In addition, we will analyse “everyday life in the past” using archival material about life in the past, and through the experiences, memories, stories, and private archives (preserved objects, photos) of their former residents.

The chapter is available here.