Croatian Krajina - Definition and Overview

The Croatian Krajina is a territory formed in the 16th century on the border of the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire, part of the Military Frontier.

This part of the Military Frontier included the geographic regions of Lika, Kordun, Banija and bordered the Adriatic Sea to the west, Venetian Republic to the south, Habsburg Croatia to the west, and the Ottoman Empire to the east.

It extended onto the Slavonian Krajina near the confluence of the Una river into Sava. Like the rest of the Military Frontier, it ceased to exist as a political entity in the late 19th century.

Historical context

The Serbs often call this territory "Serbian Krajina" because most of the population used to be Serbian, but Croats call it Croatian Krajina because it is in Croatia.

During the Yugoslav wars of 1990-95 there existed a "Republic of Serbian Krajina", but it was then taken over by the Croatian army during Operation Storm ("Oluja").