History of Otok Krk

from 1392 one of them (Ivan V), became a Croatian-Dalmatian Ban. In 1430 they took the surname Frankopan (Frangipane), claiming to have Roman origins. That year they adopted a coat of arms showing two lions breaking a piece of bread (Latin: frangere pane, break bread). From 1449, the descendants of Nikola IV founded eight branches of his family, and together with the Zrinski Counts were the ruling feudal family in the whole of Croatia right up to 1671. The Frankopans produced seven Croatian Bans, and many of them were patrons of Croatian artists.

Under the Venetians (1480–1797)

Krk was the last Adriatic island to become part of the Venetian Empire. Due to its location, closest to the Uskoks of Senj, it served as a lookout point and the first line of defence against the Uskoks. From that time the ruler was a Venetian noble, but the Small and the Large Councils both had a certain autonomy. The doge controlled the clergy but public documents were written in Glagolitic which was adopted here more than anywhere else. At the beginning of the 16th century the inhabitants of inland Croatia began to settle on Krk in their flight from the Turks, but Krk suffered a decline like all other Venetian property. In 1527 the town had 10,461 inhabitants and in 1527 it had 8,000.

Under the Austrians

This began with the fall of Venice in 1797 and was briefly (1806–1813) interrupted by Napoleon's Illyrian Provinces. In 1822 the Austrians separated the island from Dalmatia and linked it to Istria, so that Krk, Cres and Lošinj came under direct rule from Vienna. This link contributed to the Croatian National Revival and together with Kastav, the town of Krk played a leading role in the spread of Croatian education and culture.

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