Detail of the monument with an inscription dedicated to the people of Drivenik who died in World War I.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum, photography by Miro Matejčić
New times
By the end of the 18th century, the people of Drivenik could no longer live exclusively off the land. An increasing number of day laborers appeared, mostly assistant masons. With the further increase in the population, the way of earning a living changed, agriculture slowly became a secondary occupation, although every meter of land was still cultivated. In the mid-19th century, Drivenik itself, without the newly founded parishes of St. James and Tribalj, had 856 inhabitants and in 1910 it had 1127 inhabitants.
Due to the impossibility of living off the land for such a large population, the people of Drivenik began to emigrate. At first temporarily and later permanently. At the beginning of the 20th century, more than 1/3 of all Drivenik people (353 of them) emigrated, mostly to the United States of America. After the end of World War I in 1918, emigration continued, this time to South America. Unfortunately, it continues today, although to other regions.
Monument to those killed in World War I. It was designed and erected by Mikula Klarić in 1917.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum, photography by Miro Matejčić
The Society of the Name of Jesus
An integral part of the story of emigration is the story of the Society of the Name of Jesus. Faced with life and financial difficulties abroad, the bricklayers of Drivenik decided to establish their own, workers’, “auxiliary” association. Its main task was to financially take care of its members and their families in the event of trouble, illness or death. The society was founded in 1905 in emigration, in St. Louis in the United States of America and a little later moved its headquarters to Drivenik. At home, it soon became the bearer of cultural and economic life and operated successfully until World War II. It was restored in 1993 and is still in operation today.
The seal of the original Society with the inscription “Supporting Cooperative Press of the Name of Jesus in Drivenik”
Source: Society of the Name of Jesus, Drivenik
Monument to those killed in the First World War
In addition to mass emigration to North and South America, the great world wars also had a major impact on demography. The twentieth century was marked by two world wars and continued emigration. Overpopulated Drivenik fell in less than a century from a population of 1100 to only about 300 at the end of the same century.
As a monument to one of the aforementioned sufferings, a monument to those killed in the First World War was erected in the village of Klarići in Drivenik. The Drivenik monument is one of the rare such monuments in Croatia and the only one in Vinodol. It was made by Mikula Klarić with his own hands during the war in 1917 in memory of “our dear brothers who died in the cruel and great war”.
Tourist Board of the Municipality of Vinodol
Bribir 1
51253 Bribir
Tel: +385 (0)51 248-730
e-mail: info@tz-vinodol.hr
tz-vinodol.hr
IMPRESSUM
Publisher: Tourist Board of the Municipality of Vinodol
For the publisher: Alenka Spoja
Concept and texts: Stjepan Špalj
Proofreading: Jelena Franjković
Design and illustrations:
InSitu, Ivona Miloš
Sign production: Pismotisak j.d.o.o.
Year: 2025
Water
– the driving force of life
Drivenik is rich in water sources. Their concentration is higher than in any other Vinodol village. Thus, a total of 15 arranged, “walled” water supply springs have been recorded in the area of Drivenik and some of them have also been built with laundries where the population washed clothes and dishes. The abundance of water was also used for economic purposes. Drivenik was famous for its mills located on the Dubračina river. The earliest mention of a mill is found on a map from 1774 in the village of Cerovići, although they certainly existed earlier. By the middle of the last century, there were four mills in operation in Cerovići.
The Piralo spring with an arranged laundry spot. Built in 1939, this walled spring below the village of Baćići is perhaps the most beautiful example of this type of architecture in Drivenik.
Source: photography by Stjepan Špalj
The remains of a house on Kamenjak. They were only inhabited during the summer months to graze sheep on the mountain slopes.
Source: photography by Tea Rosić
The remains of the mill on Dubračina outside the village of Cerovići. The photo shows the opening for the mill wheel axle.
Source: author of the photography Tea Rosić
Kamenjak – Dvori
Pastures and livestock have been an integral part of the life of the people of Vinodol since time immemorial. The main part of grazing was done in the mountains, although once upon a time the coastal part was also used for this, although that has long since faded from memory… Dragutin Hirc claimed in 1891 that “the people of Vinodol have the most beautiful pastures above Drivenik.”
Right there on the mountain, at the pass of the road over Ravna, is the mountain village of Kamenjak. The shepherd’s huts that are scattered throughout the area elsewhere are here compressed into a village. Hirc says of Kamenjak: “There are up to 50 mountain huts in which sheep and people spend the night. These huts are 3-4 m long, 2 m wide and made of unhewn stones. They are covered with shingles or with straw.” From these huts, the people of Drivenik would go out with their sheep to graze on distant pastures every day, returning to them at dusk. Today, the huts are abandoned, reminding us of a completely different life.
Everyday life
At the very end of the 17th century, when lasting peace with the Ottomans finally was established, Drivenik had only 290 inhabitants. Due to the instability and feudal relations that had prevailed, the town had stagnated. However, it was already noticeable that the lack of arable land and the limited space were the main obstacles to further development.
The Viennese court, which had confiscated the Vinodol estates of the executed Petar Zrinski, was trying to stimulate the economy. Unlike the previous rulers, the new court administration allowed the inhabitants to cultivate all available land. During this period, over 160.000 m2 of new land was put into use in Drivenik. Viticulture, present since time immemorial, continued to develop and grow, while the low forests in the hinterland were cleared and turned into pastures for the grazing of increasingly numerous sheep. For the purpose of selling and transporting goods, the “Vinodol road” was built through the valley in 1746, connecting this area with Rijeka and its port. These peaceful conditions obviously suited the people of Drivenik and the population grew rapidly. In less than a hundred years, from 1708 to the end of the 18th century, it grew from 340 to 994 inhabitants.
The calming of political conditions and the economic reforms implemented by the Viennese authorities soon led to an increase in production, although such a life was far from prosperous. Thanks to the preserved tax lists, we know what and how much production was in Drivenik. For example, in 1769, around 47.000 liters of wine and around 15 tons of grain were produced. In the same year, the people of Drivenik kept 356 cows and around 2400 sheep.
The stand of a torkula or grape press, from the village of Benkovići. The existence of a large number of preserved stone stands indicates that importance of winemaking in the recent past.
Source: photography by Vladimir Martinčić
Part of the newly built Vinodol road in the area of Drivenik in 1781. At the time the map was created, the road had only been in use for about 30 years. The road was built as part of the economic and trade modernization of the Monarchy. The Vinodol road connected to the Caroline road below the old town of Hreljin.
Source: Croatian State Archives in Rijeka, Küsten Strecke von Bersetz – HIVa089
Road over Ravna. An old road that leads from the village of Petrinovići to the forest area in the hinterland of Drivenik. Since the end of the 17th century, forest areas have been cleared and new land has been used as pastures. Such roadways were built by the locals themselves for their own needs.
Source: photography by Tea Rosić
Pieta
The Drivenik Pieta is one of the most beautiful examples of late Gothic sculpture in Croatia. It depicts the grieving Virgin Mary with the dead Christ lying on her knees. To their left stands Mary Magdalene holding Christ’s hand, while St. John the Apostle holds Christ’s head. The sculpture was created in Transalpine Central Europe in the so-called “Germanic” countries around 1480. Due to its beauty and value, but also to the previously acquired works of art, it is attributed to the then owners of Drivenik, the Frankopan sovereigns. The sculpture is today kept in the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb.
Late Gothic altar sculpture Pieta, a gift from the Frankopan princes to the Church of St. Stephen.
Source: Museum of Arts and Crafts
Sacral heritage
The center of spiritual life in Drivenik was located, along with the secular one, also on the Glavica hill. The first spiritual buildings were built right next to the first fortress.
The old town preserves a multitude of them: two churches, two cemetery chapels and a Way of the Cross marked by a series of smaller chapels ending with a Calvary. A truly exceptional number in such a small area. The largest and most important building is certainly the parish church of St. Domnius. The saint to whom the church is dedicated indicates the great age of the church. Perhaps it was dedicated to that saint in the 12th century, when the Krk Diocese was founded by the Split metropolis? Drivenik was its final point after all. Perhaps it was titled as a dedication to the founder of the Krk sovereigns, Domnius I.? In any case, the church has been rising on the Drivenik hill for many centuries. The current building is the result of several additions that began in 1762 and continued through the 19th century. The former much smaller and more modest church was thus gradually incorporated into a spacious three-nave church. Only two tombstones from the 17th and 18th centuries remind us of it.
Right next to the parish church stands the church of St. Stephen the First Martyr. The small, single-nave church was built in the 15th century in the style of the late Gothic fashion of the time. As in the case of St. Domnius, its beginnings are much more modest. The foundations of an older Romanesque church, probably from the 13th century, were found under the current building. Considerably more modest than the neighboring parish church, the church of St. Stephen hid valuable inventory for a long time: the “golden altar” from the 17th century and the famous altar sculpture of the Pieta from the 15th century.
The Gothic church of St. Stephen the First Martyr
Source: photography by Jasna Špalj
The parish church of St. Domnius
Source: photography by Jasna Špalj
Calvary
The Way of the Cross that begins next to the parish church of St. Domnius after five stations or chapels ends with the last station – Calvary in front of the Drivenik cemetery. It consists of three wooden crosses placed in stone niches. According to legend, it was erected in 1769, probably as part of the construction of the Way of the Cross.
Calvary. The last station of the Drivenik Way of the Cross, built in 1769.
Source: Tourist Board of the Municipality of Vinodol
Drivenik of the Frankopan family
Inhabited since the end of the 8th century, Drivenik is first explicitly mentioned in the Vinodol Law of 1288. At that time, Drivenik was one of the nine independent Vinodol municipalities that sent its representatives to a meeting in the Frankopan Novi. It was represented at the meeting by Captain Dragoljub and the experts in customary law Mikula, Dragoljub and Pribiniga.
In the middle of the 13th century, the entire Vinodol, including Drivenik, fell under the rule of the sovereigns of Krk, who would later be called the Frankopans. The medieval Drivenik municipality stretched from Hreljin in the west to the border with Grižane, or Belgrad in Polje in the east. At that time, the coast where the church of St. James was located (today Jadranovo) also belonged to Drivenik. On the eastern border, disputes often arose between the people of Drivenik and Belgradac, mostly over grazing rights on the field (Polje).
Under the Frankopan family, Drivenik lived its feudal life concentrated around the newly built fortress on Glavica. The limited development of this municipality stopped due to the first Turkish invasions at the end of the 15th century. Then, under the rule of Bernardin Frankopan, the entire Vinodol was fortified and on the site of the more modest Drivenik fortress, a modern Renaissance castle was built, which saved the inhabitants of this region on several occasions.
A page of the Vinodol Law mentioning representatives of Drivenik at a meeting in Novi: “From Drivenik, Dragolub captain and Mikula Dragolub and Pribinig”
Source: National and University Library in Zagreb
Drivenik of the Zrinski family
Drivenik changed rulers and passed into the hands of the Zrinski sovereigns during the 1570s, after Stjepan Frankopan from Ozalj left the Vinodol estates to his nephews. It is likely that upon arrival, the new owners immediately let it be known that “the administration had changed”, as evidenced by the Glagolitic stone slab from 1570 once installed above the entrance to the town.
Zrinski would rule Drivenik for less than a hundred years, until the Zrinski-Frankopan rebellion against the Viennese court and the execution of Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan in 1671. One of the final acts of the rebellion would take place in Drivenik. In 1669, Ban Petar Zrinski openly issued an order to raise an armed uprising against the Viennese court. He appointed Franjo Frankulin as the Vinodol captain and tasked him with preparing the uprising. Frankulin issued an order to all the castellans of Vinodol, from Hreljin to Bribir, to gather for military exercises on Sunday, March 30, 1670, on the field below Drivenik, all able-bodied men, well-dressed and properly armed, “starting from the master of the house, to the little boy who is twelve years old”. An army of about 2000 men gathered in Drivenik and Bakar, although it was never set in motion. According to folk tradition, the remains of trenches and ditches created during this parade can still be seen in the field.
The legend of the goats
An old folk legend recorded in the mid-19th century is very likely related to the arrival of Drivenik in the possession of the Zrinski family. It says that once above the entrance to the city there was a coat of arms with the image of a leaping goat. The neighbors teased the people of Drivenik, calling them “goats”. The offended people of Drivenik, tired of the teasing, finally carved the coat of arms.
It is quite certain that the carved coat of arms did not depict leaping goats, but rather Frankopan lions, skillfully or ineptly depicted. Although the people of Drivenik did indeed remove the coat of arms, they certainly did not do so out of insult, but most certainly becuse of orders of their new masters, the Zrinski family, after they took over the town.
Glagolitic heritage
Glagolitic script can be traced in the Vinodol area from the 12th century onwards. Even after Vinodol became a Frankopan possession, the Glagolitic tradition and use of the vernacular language continued. Court officials and notaries, who were located in each of the Vinodol towns, used it to record legal norms and land documents, urbarial relations, etc. Priests or Glagolitic priests who worked in all Vinodol parishes, were also important for the preservation of Glagolitic. In addition to using Glagolitic books when serving mass, as scribes they used the Glagolitic script on a daily basis to compile documents. Glagolitic script was so widespread that even newly arrived Pauline priests used it.
Several Glagolitic stone monuments have been found in the Drivenik area, of which only two have survived to this day and both are related to the construction of the castle. Of the documents, a few Glagolitic land ownership and legal documents created in Drivenik, such as purchase contracts from 1574 and 1614 have survived. Of particular interest are the recorded border disputes between the people of Drivenik and the people of Grižane and Belgradac, which we record from the middle of the 15th to the second half of the 17th century.
The crew of the Drivenik castle was ready for any impending danger. The picture shows half of a ceramic mold for casting projectiles from the 17th century. Three castings of different diameters intended for a rampart gun and an arquebus are visible. The mold was found during archaeological research in the northeastern tower of the castle.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum
The remains of a Glagolitic inscription with the year 1572 inscribed
According to the records of Mijat Sabljar, the inscription was located above the entrance to the Drivenik town. Judging by the year, the inscription is connected to the date when the town of Drivenik came into possession of the noble Zrinski family.
Source: Drivenik catalogue, Branko Fučić, 1995
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Loopholes
on the walls of the Drivenik castle. The Drivenik castle was built in accordance with the military innovations of the time and was adapted to the modern method of warfare dominated by the use of firearms. One of the new elements of military architecture is the loophole with a round opening, intended for the use of rampart guns. There are a total of 22 loopholes on the ramparts of the Drivenik castle.
Source: photography by Stjepan Špalj
The castle
Certain extensions were already being made in 1476,
as evidenced by the Glagolitic inscription found inside the present castle. However, a major extension of the Drivenik fortress was carried out during the reign of Bernardin Frankopan. Due to the aforementioned Turkish incursions, he strongly fortified all his Vinodol possessions at the beginning of the 16th century. At that time, the rectangular Renaissance castle that we see today was built. The former square tower was additionally strengthened by cladding it with a round mantle. An exceptionally strong defensive tower is incorporated into a quadrangular castle with circular towers erected at each corner. The eastern wall, from where the attacker could most easily approach, is additionally protected by a semicircular bastion. Although this entire project was carried out in one go, this did not affect its quality. The castle was built meticulously and in accordance with the requirements of the time, which already knew firearms and in which firearms were already widely used.
Legend of the Turkish invasion
In the mid-19th century, an old folk legend was recorded about the difficult and turbulent times of the Turkish invasion. Legend has it that the Turks once invaded Vinodol and peacefully moved under the fortified Drivenik. When they had almost passed it, a “town lady” laughed at them, presumably mockingly, after which the Turks returned, attacked the city and set it on fire. The legend definitely had a basis in reality, as destructive Turkish incursions into Vinodol were recorded on many occasions during the 16th century.
Ground plan of the Renaissance castle
built in the early 16th century.
Finding from the period when the castle was in use.
Iron door keys found during archaeological excavations in the area of the Drivenik castle dated to the 17th or 18th century.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum
Painted and glazed bowls of the so-called Maiolica
found during archaeological excavations in the area of the Drivenik castle. This type of pottery was massively imported from central Italy and was widely distributed throughout coastal Croatia during the 17th century.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum
Drivenik Castle
Guard
We find Croats in this area at the end of the 8th century. The then dangerous and turbulent times required the construction of some form of fortress or guard. As in previous periods, the most prominent positions were reoccupied. The hill Glavica in Drivenik was refortified. On the remains of the former prehistoric hillfort, the Croats built their fortress. There are no preserved remains of this original fortress today. Archaeologists have only found a fireplace around which the guards warmed themselves and modest remains of ceramics. It is possible that it was built of wood, which was not in short supply in the immediate vicinity at that time. This is probably where the name of the new settlement Drivenik comes from.
Tower
Traces of the wooden fortress have long since disappeared.
A stone square tower was erected in its place much later, probably during the 13th century, which still exists today, although it is incorporated within a large, round guard tower. Its construction was certainly connected with the Tatar invasion and the arrival of the sovereigns from the island of Krk (later known as the Frankopans) in Vinodol. The tower successfully performed its function for more than a century, but with the first, devastating Turkish invasions, the need for additional fortification arose.
Old Croatian pottery
with ribbon decoration. It is dated to the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries. It is identical to the pottery found in the nearby Old Croatian cemetery in Stranče. Found during archaeological research in the area of the Drivenik castle.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum
Remains of a Glagolitic inscription with the year 1476.
The slab was subsequently installed in the corridor of the northwestern tower of the Drivenik castle. The inscription was probably created during one of the earlier reconstructions of the Drivenik fortress.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum
A square tower from the 13th century.
Its integration into the later round guard tower is clearly visible.
Source: Tourist Board of the Municipality of Vinodol
Drivenik
Looking towards the west of the Vinodol Valley, the peak of Glavica rises from the plain of the Tribalj field, dominating the entire surroundings.
Its strategic location allowed the surveillance of every movement through the valley and its inaccessible steep rocks gave security to anyone who would establish themselves on it. It is therefore not surprising that since time immemorial it has magnetically attracted all human groups that passed through this area.
Judging by archaeological findings, Glavica has been inhabited, with minor interruptions, for more than 3000 years. Different populations have changed here over the centuries. However, the last in a series of settlers and also the most persistent, were precisely the ancestors of today’s residents of Drivenik. 1200 years ago, they occupied this area and settled again on Glavica. There they first built a fortress and later a settlement. Throughout the following centuries, all human activity took place on and around this hill, which became the “castle” of Drivenik – the center of social and spiritual life gathered around a strong fortress. Although Glavica was abandoned in later centuries and the “city” became an abandoned “hillfort”, it still remained the center and key point of Drivenik in the eyes of its inhabitants.
St. Jakov (Jadranovo)
Drivenik
Tribalj
Brijeg Glavica – the center of Drivenik. The secular
and sacral center of Drivenik throughout the past centuries.
Legend:
1\. Castle
2\. Former elementary school
3\. Parish court
4\. Church of St. Stephen
5\. Parish church of St. Domnius
6\. Way of the Cross
7\. Cemetery with the chapel of St. Martin
Drivenik
Gračišće
Former independent municipality of Drivenik and today’s settlement of Drivenik
Prehistoric hillforts in the area of today’s Drivenik
Multi-edged deltoid-shaped arrowheads dated between the 4th and 7th centuries, found at the prehistoric hillfort of Gračišće. The find indicates that the fort continued to be used during the late Roman period.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum
Fragments of blades
made of obsidian and chert
dated to the 3rd millennium BC, found during archaeological work on the area of the Drivenik castle.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum
Prehistoric hillfort of Gračišće. After the Roman conquest, it continued to be used as a military guardhouse.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum, photo by Dragan Pelić
The oldest era – before Drivenik
Drinking water and arable land attracted the first, still wandering inhabitants to the area of today’s Vinodol. Some archaeological finds indicate that this area was inhabited as early as the Eneolithic Period or Copper Age. However, the first permanent population in this area dates back to the Late Bronze Age, approximately around the 13th century BC. This population, which we have called the “Kvarner Group”, lived in smaller groups in fortified hill settlements – hill forts that we find throughout Vinodol. Two such hill forts can be found in the Drivenik area on the hills Glavica and Gračišće. Located opposite each other, the hill forts controlled the source and upper course of the Dubračina river, ensuring that the population of the time could cultivate the fertile lands in the valley.
During the second century BC, the Kvarner area was conquered or annexed by the Romans. We do not have much information about the course of these events, although we know, judging by trade, that the coexistence of the new administration and the old population was peaceful. The Romans built a road along the Vinodol valley and the population gradually abandoned the hillforts and descended into the valley. However, the hillforts are still in use, but as guard posts from which Roman soldiers monitor navigation and road traffic. This is supported by the remains of Roman tegulae and ceramics on the aforementioned hillforts, as well as the arrowheads of Roman soldiers found in Gračišće.
Karičica
from the late Bronze Age. It was found during archaeological work on the Drivenik castle.
Source: Crikvenica City Museum