Krajina - Definition and Overview

Krajina (in various versions) is a Slavic toponym which means:

• borderland i.e.
  • Krajna (on the border of Greater Poland and Pomerania provinces)
  • Military Krajina (Military Frontier, Militärgrenze), borderland of Austria against the Ottoman Empire. It was divided into:
    • Banat Krajina (on the Serbian-Romanian border)
    • Slavonian Krajina (on the border of Vojvodina and eastern Croatia towards Bosnia)
    • Croatian Krajina (on the border of western Croatia and Bosnia)
  • Ukrajina is Ukrainian ethnonym for Ukraine.
  • Cazinska Krajina, borderland of Bosnia towards Croatia around the city of Cazin
  • Bosanska Krajina, same, but around Banja Luka and encompassing a larger area
  • Timočka Krajina, borderland of Serbia towards Bulgaria around river Timok
  • Negotinska Krajina, a part of Timočka Krajina around the city of Negotin
  • Bela Krajina, borderland of Slovenia towards Croatia

• country,state or province (versions: Pokrajina, Kraina, Kraj. Krai) i.e.
  • Krais of Russia

• Where the term "Serbian Krajina" or "Krajina" alone is used, it probably refers to either the Military Krajina or the former RSK (Republic of Serbian Krajina), formed in the areas of former Slavonian and Croatian Krajina during the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s.