Pictorial Representation of the Plitvice Lakes in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Urednik — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 06:51:03 +0000

MemorabiLika recently published an original scientific paper, “Pictorial Representation of the Plitvice Lakes in the 18th and 19th Centuries”, by Dr Kazimir Miculinić, until recently head of the Plitvice Lakes National Park Nature Conservation Service. The article makes a significant contribution to the historical record and the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Plitvice Lakes, while its analyses also provide valuable insights into changes in the area’s natural values. It examines the appearance and transformation of the lake system, tufa barriers and waterfalls at that time, describes the vegetation that grew in the area, the everyday life and clothing of the inhabitants, and presents buildings from that era and the changes brought about by tourism.

According to the author: „Every document, textu al or visual, is a valuable source of information about the lakes. Knowing about their appearance throughout history comes from written sources, topographical maps, and, later, from photographs and postcards. Visual representations imbued with an artistic or documentary character remain largely unexplored. Although relatively few such works exist from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the few represent a significant record of that period, and an analysis of the material can provide interesting details.“

Figure 1. Detail from the drawing Prospeckt Von Ursprung des Korana Flu∫s und Plitviczer Seen. Krčingrad is located on a peninsula between the lakes marked as numbers 5 and 6.
Figure 2. Gouache Plitvice Lakes in Croatia depicting Kozjak, the Kozjak barrier, and Milanovac. Plitwitzer See in Kroatien (National Museum of Modern Art, MG-26; photo: Goran Vranić).
Figure 3. Drawing by the Saxon king Aus unserer Fruhstucks-hutte am Kozjak in den Plittwicza seen, am 1-ten Juny. Adapted from Franić (1910).
Figure 4. Sketch by Gorjanović-Kramberger. Reproduced from Božičević et al. (2013).
Figure 5. Signed version of the illustration by Ewald Arndt Čeplin. Reproduced from Hirc (1900).
Figure 6. Postcard of the Plitvice Lakes sent on 28 October 1896 (Archive of the Public Institution Plitvice Lakes National Park)

How the authors of the pictorial representations experienced Plitvice Lakes at that time, and what we can learn from their representations, can be found in paper via the link https://hrcak.srce.hr/clanak/501375.

Objava Pictorial Representation of the Plitvice Lakes in the 18th and 19th Centuries pojavila se prvi puta na Nacionalni park "Plitvička jezera".

Arhiva MemorabiLika - Nacionalni park "Plitvička jezera"

Pictorial Representation of the Plitvice Lakes in the 18th and 19th Centuries