Lovas, Croatia
| Lovas | |
|---|---|
| Municipality | |
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 Lovas
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| Coordinates: 45°14′N 19°10′E / 45.233°N 19.167°ECoordinates: 45°14′N 19°10′E / 45.233°N 19.167°E | |
| Country |
 Croatia
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| County |
 Vukovar-Srijem
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| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 1,213 |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | ? |
| Area code(s) | 32 |
| Vehicle registration | VU |
| Website | lovas.hr |
Lovas is a village and seat of municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County of eastern Croatia, located on the slopes of Fruška Gora, a few kilometers south of the main road connecting Vukovar with Ilok. Lovas has a population of 1,167 (2001), and its municipality also includes the smaller village of Opatovac (pop. 412 in 2001) which is located to the north, at the Danube.
The village of Lowas in Feudal times was in the District of Vukovar a village belonging to the Eltz family. It was the home of Croats, Hungarians, Serbs, and Germans.
Lovas was almost completely destroyed during the Croatian War of Independence when the villages were attacked by and later invaded by the Serbian forces. Lovas was a village of 1,681 at the time, mostly Croats (85.7%), with some Serbs (7.9%) and others (6.4%). Opatovac was populated by 550 people, of which there were 43.4% Croats, 26.2% Serbs, 21.1% Magyars, and 9.5% others.
In Lovas, 261 houses were completely destroyed, and all others were damaged, whereas in Opatovac, 15 homes were destroyed and fifty-odd others were damaged. Most of the damage was caused by Serbian bombing prior to the occupation, while some was caused afterwards.
Lovas was captured on October 10, 1991, and Opatovac on October 14. On October 11, a group of 51 Croats was forced to enter a mine field just outside Lovas in order to "clear" it, causing death to 21 of them and injury to another 14. Another 19 people were killed in the village the same day.
The Serbian army occupied a building in the village and used it as an improvised jail. There, the non-Serb population was mistreated to the extent of atrocity - men and women were arrested and subsequently beaten and molested with any and all instruments at their captors' disposal - from crowbars to knives to electrodes. Those Croats who remained were forced to wear white arm bands as a sign of racial recognition.
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Wikipedia