Josipdol

Josipdol is a village and municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. The municipality is part of Lika.

Geography

Josipdol is situated in the Ogulin-Plaški valley which together with Lika and Gorski Kotar forms Mountainous Croatia. The town is located at the crossroads of state roads D-23, which connects Karlovac and Senj (Jozefin road), and D-42, which connects Vrbovsko and Plitvice. Josipdol is located 10 km southeast from Ogulin, 14 km northwest from Plaški and 45 km southwest from Karlovac.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the town had a population of 993 with a total municipality population of 3,987, of which 87.5% were Croats and 10.5% were Serbs. Serbs form the majority in the village of Trojvrh.

History

Scarce archaeological remains near Oštarije village show that the area was settled in the Neolithic. Remains from the Copper Age show that the area was the southernmost part of Lasinja culture. The first known inhabitants of the area were the Illyrian tribe of Japods, which lived here from the late Bronze Age. In this area the Japods had two strongholds, Tetrapones, east of today's town Josipdol and Metulum, north of the town. On the north the Japods bordered with Celts and random remains of Celtic coins were found in the area.