Kerestinec
Kerestinec is a settlement (naselje) west of Zagreb, in the Sveta Nedelja, Zagreb County, infamous for events in Croatian history. It has 1,199 inhabitants[1] living on an area of 4.71 square kilometers (1.82 sq mi).[2] The name of Kerestinec comes from Hungarian word kereszt which stands for "cross".
According to historical sources, there was a wooden chapel of Holy Cross near the Erdödy castle. Since the Erdödys were a Croatian-Hungarian noble family, a lot of Hungarian words were used in that time, and this is why Kerestinec bears such a name.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early
In 1573, during the Croatian and Slovenian peasant revolt, government forces led by podban (deputy viceroy) of Croatia, Gašpar Alapić, defeated rebels in a battle near Kerestinec.[citation needed]
[edit] Kerestinec rebellion
The pesants have rebelled once again in 1936, and this time against the Serbian gendarmerie who had their base in the castle.[citation needed] This so-called Kerestinec rebellion was crushed by the Yugoslav army.[citation needed] All rebels were tried and sentenced to long term imprisonment or to death, and later, the death penalties were diminished.[citation needed]
[edit] World War II
Before the outbreak of World War II, the government of Yugoslavia built a prison near Kerestinec and used it to detain political prisoners, mainly Communists. In March 1941, at the eve of the Axis invasion, a large number of left-wing intellectuals from Zagreb were arrested and interned in Kerestinec. A few weeks later Yugoslavia collapsed and the prison was taken over by authorities of the newly formed Independent State of Croatia. Following German invasion of USSR, the Croatian Communist Party started a resistance movement that would later become known as Partisans. The Ustaša regime decided to retaliate by killing some of Kerestinec prisoners. On July 9, 1941 the first group, including Božidar Adžija, Otokar Keršovani and Ognjen Prica, was executed.
The Party reacted by organizing an impromptu prison break. On July 13 the guards were overpowered and all the remaining prisoners managed to escape. But the attempt soon proved to be poorly organised and uncoordinated. Very quickly, most of the prisoners, including August Cesarec, were recaptured and shot in Maksimir woods.
[edit] Yugoslav Wars
The former Yugoslav Army (JNA) rocket base at Kerestinec was taken by the Croatian army in 1991.[3] The base was used from November 1991 to 1992 as a prison camp that housed JNA soldiers, Serb volunteers, mainly from Sisak, and civilians, including women.[3] The prison commander Stjepan Klarić took part in and encouraged his four colleagues (all five are currently in trial for war crimes) and members of the Croatian army, to use physical and psychological torture against the prisoners.[3] There are a total of 34 people who were inflicted great suffering and violation of bodily integrity and health, including daily harassment, assaults and rapes.[3]
[edit] Today
Today, Kerestinec is one of the settlements of the Town of Sveta Nedelja. Local buildings of note are the Erdödy castle and the parish church of the Holy Cross.
In terms of economy, Kerestinec is also the seat of several companies and numerous private enterprises.
Kerestinec is also the cultural center of Sveta Nedelja. The leader of cultural development is the local Cultural society Kerestinec. Other groups are the Sport-fishing club "Som", "TOP" Kerestinec Football club, Volunteer Fire Department Kerestinec and several other unions.
[edit] References
- ^ "Population by sex and age, by settlements, census 2001 (Sveta Nedelja)". Republic of Croatia Bureau of Statistics. http://www.dzs.hr/Eng/censuses/Census2001/Popis/E01_01_01/e01_01_01_zup01-4367.html. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- ^ "Prostorno razvojne i resursne značajke: Naselja" (in Croatian). Zagreb County Spatial Plan. http://www.zagrebacka-zupanija.hr/prostorni_plan/PPZZ_I/1-1-2-1.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
- ^ a b c d B92, Podignuta optužnica za "Kerestinec", 23.11.2011
