Slunj: The Watermills and Waterfalls of Rastoke
Slunj is a town in the mountainous region of central Croatia, in Karlovac County, at the confluence of the Korana and Slunjčica rivers. The municipality has 5,076 inhabitants (2011 census), of whom 1,674 live in the town. Slunj lies on the main route between Zagreb and Plitvice Lakes National Park, 50 kilometres from Karlovac. Its main attraction is the Rastoke district, declared a cultural monument in 1969, where dozens of waterfalls and 18th-century watermills coexist in perfect harmony with the millers' own homes.
History The first documented mention of the Slunj region dates from 1322, when King Charles I of Hungary ceded the castle of Slovin to the Frankopan family. In the 16th century, Ottoman wars turned Slunj into an outpost of the Croatian Military Frontier, destroying the earlier settlement. The Treaty of Sistova (1791) allowed for peaceful repopulation of the area. Chronicler Johann Weikhard von Valvasor described Rastoke in 1689 as an ensemble of mills and bridges in a dream-like setting. During the Napoleonic period (1809–1813), warehouses and roads were built and vineyards were planted in the area.
Rastoke: Waterfalls and Watermills Rastoke is the tourist heart of Slunj. The Slunjčica River divides into numerous branches before cascading over travertine barriers —sedimentary limestone rock— in 23 waterfalls that tumble into the Korana River. On and around these waterfalls, inhabitants built more than 22 watermills from the 17th century onwards, which can still be visited today. The spectacle of wooden houses over the water, accompanied by the constant sound of waterfalls, has led many visitors to describe Rastoke as "little Plitvice." The UN World Tourism Organisation named Slunj one of the world's top 54 rural tourist villages.
Points of interest: - Population: 5,076 (municipality, 2011); 1,674 (town). - Distances: 50 km from Karlovac, 25 km from Plitvice Lakes National Park, 16 km from the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina. - Getting there: State road D1 Zagreb-Split; transit buses.