Discover Bunić: Church History and Landscapes

If you are looking for hotels in Bunić, the local history and landscape help put the destination in context. Three distinct points of interest stand out: the historicist Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Bunić’s historical role as a fortress, and Laudonov gaj southeast of the village. Depending on whether you are interested in architectural history, the period of the Military Frontier or a landscaped woodland, you can focus your trip planning accordingly.

Architectural and Local History

The historicist Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in the mid-19th century on the site of an older church. The term historicism refers to an approach based on older styles. The surviving structure extends up to the eaves; the church is being restored, and the progress may change. Thus, an older church site and a 19th-century building come together at this location. For travelers interested in architectural history, the style, construction period and restoration form a distinctive point of reference.

Bunić’s history as a fortress also helps place the village in time: during the Ottoman period, Bunić was an important fortress. After the Ottomans withdrew in 1689, the village became the seat of a captaincy of the Military Frontier. This allows two successive roles to be distinguished: its role as a fortress during the Ottoman period and its later role as the seat of a captaincy.

Laudonov Gaj and the Landscape

Southeast of Bunić lies Laudonov gaj, a park woodland with around 470 pedunculate oaks. Austrian field marshal Gideon Ernst Laudon had the oaks planted to stop the movement of sand. This is an approximate figure and may change over time. Unlike the church and fortress history, the park woodland is shaped primarily by the combination of its trees and landscape design.

Culture and Landscape in Općina Udbina

Within the wider destination of Općina Udbina, the remains of the Bishop’s Cathedral of St. James lie on the eastern edge of the Udbina settlement; they are dated to the 13th century. Above the Church of the Croatian Martyrs stands Gradina, a tower and a defensive complex thought to date from the 15th century. The Church of the Croatian Martyrs is the largest church in Udbina and a Croatian national shrine. The remains of the Church of St. Bishop Nicholas are also incorporated into it.

Other sights in the Municipality of Udbina include the ruins of Kaštel Krbava Castle, the remains of an old Croatian Romanesque church in Podudbina, and the remains of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Mutilić. In this wider context, church remains and a castle complex stand alongside the history of the cathedral and the Church of the Croatian Martyrs.

Krbavsko polje lies below the Udbina settlement. The area contains the sinkholes of the Krbavica River and Murtino jezero. Laudonov Gaj Park Woodland covers 33 hectares and lies in the northwest of Krbavsko polje, near the village of Šalamunić; it was declared a park woodland in 1960.

Protected landscapes are also part of the context of Općina Udbina. The 513-hectare section of Bijeli Potoci–Kamensko located in the Municipality of Udbina is protected as a significant landscape; the wider area is also protected as a Second World War memorial area. Sokolovača has been proposed as an ornithological reserve; the area includes gorges and breeding sites for golden eagles and peregrine falcons.

Discover more destinations: Udbina, Frkašić.

Back to the wider travel overview: Općina Udbina.