Karlovac, Croatia

Karlovac,a fortified military outpost, was founded in the 16th century and named after Karl II, a Habsburg commander. The fortification was strong enough to make the Ottomans abandon their designs on it, after seven different unsucessful sieges.
Only about 35 miles southwest of Zagreb, this town of 60,000 people is located on the Zagreb-Rijeka highway and railway line, and four different rivers, the Kupa, the Korana, the Mreznica and the Dobra. It is an industrialized town in the center, but we stayed at a riverside hotel outside the city, in a park setting that was relaxing and beautiful. It was our last night in Croatia and we wanted to be off the Istrian peninsula but not have too far to travel--this fit the bill.

During the Croatian War of Independence (1991-95), being close to the frontlines between the Croatian and the Serb forces, parts of Karlovac suffered heavy damage.
It was the one city where we consciously parked th car as much out of view as possible--much like the NATO-bombed buildings in Belgrade, the bullet holes in walls here were not repaired, making us think that Serbs might not be entirely welsome here, even now. We had a peaceful time, enjoying the local beer and the nicest hotel we stayed in the whole trip.