Most of us learned about our country’s history when we were kids in school. For those of us that didn’t grow up in Croatia and moved here later in life, it can be pretty hard to learn this country’s history.

To help educate foreigners on Croatia’s past, we’ve created this series to draw attention to notable dates in the Croatian history, month by month. In this post, we’ll cover the following important dates from Croatian history that occurred during the month of June.

Jump to an event:

• Croatian Diplomacy Day
• First action of Croatian Air Force
• Battle of Sisak
• Anti-fascist Struggle Day
• Opening of Zagreb zoo
• Abolition of Nin Diocese

The facts are these…

Notable dates in Croatian history (June)

June 7 – Croatian Diplomacy Day

On June 7, 879, Pope John VIII recognized the sovereignty and independence of the medieval Croatian state. He did this in a letter to the Croatian Prince Branimir. The Pope blessed Prince Branimir and the Croatian people by recognizing Branimir’s authority over Croatia.

This recognition is considered diplomatic since it was the highest international recognition at the time. For this reason, we mark the Dan hrvatske diplomacije (Day of Croatian Diplomacy) on June 7.

On this day, it is now a tradition to give diplomas to participants of the one-year professional study at the Diplomatic Academy of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

June 16, 1991 – First action of Croatian Air Force

On June 16, 1991, Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo (Croatian Air Force) carried out their first major combat operation. They manually dropped improvised bombs on an enemy camp (rebellious Serbs) on the mountain of Dinara. Actions were performed at night by ultralight airplanes from low altitudes.

The Split Air Force performed more than 70 combat flights through January 1992. They were performed by Utva-75 airplanes armed with 4 Osa hand-held rocket launchers and various bombs. One of the biggest attacks was on the RTV transmitter Ćelavac, which was temporarily disabled.

In August 1992, the Croatian Air Force obtained an Antonov An-2 airplane. They used it to transport the wounded on the Dubrovnik-Split-Zagreb route 3 times a day.

June 15 – June 22, 1593 – Battle of Sisak

The Bitka kod Siska (Battle of Sisak) was a clash between the Habsburg and Ottoman armies in the 15th century. This battle over the Sisak fortress started on June 15 and ended on June 22, 1593.

The Battle of Sisak was the third attack by an Ottoman army on the Sisak fortress. The conquest of this fortress would have resulted in Ottoman devastation in northwest Croatia, Carniola, Styria, and other Habsburg countries.

The fortress was owned by Zagreb Kaptol, which was a body under the Zagreb diocese that also owned the territory between Mura, Drava, Sava, Kupa, and Una. Today, Zagreb Kaptol is a part of the city of Zagreb located in Upper Town and the seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop of Zagreb.

Croatian ban Toma II Erdődy was the head of the Christian army, which consisted of 4.500 soldiers. They defeated the Turkish Ottoman army, which was twice as large as the Croatian army. This was a turning point in the war against the Ottoman Empire. In memory of this event, small bells of the Zagreb and Sisak cathedrals ring every day at 14:00.

June 22 – Anti-fascist Struggle Day

The Day of Anti-fascist Struggle is called Dan antifašističke borbe in Croatian. It is held on June 22 and is a national holiday. [Read: Croatia’s National Holidays]

On this day, Croatia commemorates the establishment of the sisački partizanski odred (First Sisak Partisan Detachment), which marked the beginning of the anti-fascist uprising. This was the first anti-fascist unit in Croatia and this part of Europe.

Croatian territory was occupied by Hitler’s German forces during World War II. Croatia was led by ustaše whose leader was Ante Pavelić. Ustaše pursued an ideology of hatred towards Jews, Roma, Serbs, and Croatian dissidents in alliance with the Nazis and fascists. Their terror caused great dissatisfaction among Croats, but no one could oppose the ustaše.

On June 22, 1941, Hitler began an attack against the USSR. The First Sisak Partisan Detachment was also established on this day. Members of the Partisan Detachment hid in the woods in fear of persecution by the ustaše. They had 77 members.

During the war, the supreme legislative and executive function in Croatia was under the control of the anti-fascist movement. It was called Zemaljsko antifašističko vijeće narodnog oslobođenja Hrvatske – ZAVNOH (State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia).

In 1945, ZAVNOH became the Narodni sabor Hrvatske (Croatian National Assembly). At the end of the war, the Narodna Republika Hrvatska (People’s Republic of Croatia) was constituted. It was a federal unit of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, which was on the side of the victorious allied forces.

[Read: Dan antifašističke borbe (Anti-Fascist Struggle Day)]

June 27, 1925 – Zagreb zoo opened

On June 27, 1925, Zagreb zoo opened at the initiative of engineer Mijo pl. Filipović. His idea was supported by then Zagreb mayor – architect Vjekoslav Heinzel.

Zagreb zoo was built within the park Maksimir, one of the most beautiful parks in the city of Zagreb. The zoo was positioned on Labuđi otok (Swan Island), which is the first island on Maksimir’s first lake. At the time, it was called Zoološki vrtić (Small garden). It was the first zoo in Southeast Europe.

In the beginning, the zoo had 3 foxes and 3 owls. In 1927, the zoo got a lion. Today, Zagreb Zoo is home to 275 species and more than 2.200 animals. It is the biggest zoo in Croatia.

[Read: All the zoos in Croatia (zoološki vrt)]

June 30, 1828 – Diocese of Nin was abolished

The Diocese of Nin was established in the 9th century and the seat of the first Croatian bishop Theodosius (Teodezije) in 879.

After almost 1.000 years, the Diocese of Nin was abolished on June 30, 1828, by Pope Leon XII. Edict “Locum Beati Petri” completely reorganized the Dalmatian dioceses. The area of the Nin Diocese was associated with the Zadar archdiocese. At the time, Zadar was the capital of the Kingdom of Dalmatia and the seat of the church for the whole of Dalmatia.

Bishops performed canonical visits on the territory of their dioceses. They had to often visit Rome in person or send their authorized representatives.

In 1933, the Diocese of Nin was restored as the title episcopal center of the Catholic Church in Croatia. The title diocese or archdiocese is a closed historical diocese or archdiocese in the Catholic Church.

View other notable dates from Croatian history

• Notable dates in Croatian history (February)
• Notable dates in Croatian history (March)
• Notable dates in Croatian history (June)
• Notable dates in Croatian history (September)
• Notable dates in Croatian history (October)

Sources:
Dan hrvatske diplomacije by HRT
Sisačka bitka by enciklopedija.hr
22. lipnja – Dan antifašističke borbe by Hrvatski sabor

Na današnji dan, 1925. godine, otvoren je ZOO vrt grada Zagreba by Lice grada
Arhiva Zadarske nadbiskupije