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Karlobag 1990 – 2009

The Years of Interruption and New Beginnings

Grb Karlobaga

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The carefree idyll of the eighties was abruptly interrupted. The nineties brought the collapse of Yugoslavia and the Homeland War, which dramatically halted Karlobag’s tourist and economic life. Pictures full of foreign tourists were replaced by photographs of deserted waterfronts and wartime events. Hotels that were once symbols of mass tourism temporarily became centers for the care of refugees and displaced persons, testifying to difficult and uncertain times.

The mid- and late-nineties brought peace and the beginning of post-war reconstruction. The town, stone by stone, began to return to life. Tourism returned slowly; the former guests from Yugoslavia and the Eastern Bloc disappeared, and Karlobag had to adapt to a new market economy and new visitor profiles. This was an era of privatization and the search for a new identity. Hotels and tourist facilities, often devastated, went through a slow process of privatization and renewal.

The start of the new millennium (the 2000s) brought tangible revitalization. The town streets began to fill up again, investments in private accommodation and infrastructure became visible, and Karlobag once again positioned itself as a recognizable destination on the Croatian Adriatic.

This collection of photographs and postcards is a crucial document of survival and resilience. They capture the contrast between the peaceful pre-war life, the difficult wartime years, and Karlobag's gradual, determined return to the tourist map of Europe, in a completely new, independent environment.

Postcard 1

Period around 1996.

Publisher Viza, Remetinačka 81, Zagreb.

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1501)

No image

Postcard traveled in 1996.

Stamp of the Republic of Croatia

Publisher Viza, Remetinačka 81, Zagreb.

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1502)

Postcard 3

Period around 1996.

Publisher Viza, Remetinačka 81, Zagreb.

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1503)

Postcard 4

Period around 1996.

Publisher Viza, Remetinačka 81, Zagreb.

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1504)

Postcard 5

Period around 1996.

Publisher Viza, Remetinačka 81, Zagreb.

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1505)

Postcard 19

The postcard was sent in 2007.

Stamp of the Republic of Croatia

Published by Naša Djeca, Ulica grada Mainza 4, Zagreb.

Photographed by S. N. Nina.

Design by DIFO

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1519)

Postcard 6

Period around 1996.

Publisher Humanitarian Organization "Save the Children Croatia"

Design by Jana Žiljak

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1506)

Postcard 7

Period around 2005.

Publisher Viza, Remetinačka 81, Zagreb.

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1507)

Postcard 8

Period around 2005.

Publisher Viza, Remetinačka 81, Zagreb.

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1508)

Postcard 9

Period around 2005.

Publisher Viza, Remetinačka 81, Zagreb.

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1509)

Postcard 10

Postcard traveled in 1998.

Stamp of the Republic of Croatia

Publisher Naša Djeca, Ulica grada Mainza 4, Zagreb.

Photographed by S. N. Nina

Design by DIFO

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1510)

Postcard 11

Period around 2000.

Stamp of the Republic of Croatia

Publisher Naša Djeca, Ulica grada Mainza 4, Zagreb.

Photographed by S. N. Nina

Design by DIFO

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1511)

Postcard 12

Postcard traveled in 1998.

Stamp of the Republic of Croatia

Publisher Naša Djeca, Ulica grada Mainza 4, Zagreb.

Photographed by I. Pervan

Design by DIFO

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1512)

Postcard 13

Postcard traveled in 1992.

Stamp of the Republic of Croatia

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1513)

Postcard 14

Postcard traveled in 1991.

Stamp of SFR Yugoslavia

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1514)

Postcard 15

Period around 2004.

Publisher Viza, Remetinačka 81, Zagreb.

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1515)

Postcard 16

Period around 2005.

Publisher Naša Djeca, Ulica grada Mainza 4, Zagreb.

Photographed by I. Pervan

Design by DIFO

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1516)

Postcard 17

Period around the 1990s.

Altar of the Capuchin Church of St. Joseph

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1517)

Postcard 18

Period around the 1990s.

Church of St. Charles Borromeo and the parish residence

(Collection T. Potočnjak / Inv. nr. ZTP-KB-1518)

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