Jaksa-Katrinic Roots
In May 2004, I had the opportunity to visit Croatia on a business trip. In doing so, I became more familiar with the "Jaksa" heritage which I attempt to document hereafter. Both John Jaksa (Jakša is a very common name in Croatia and is pronounced Yahk-sha; a Croatian phone book search in July 2004 yielded 434 matches) and Amelia Katrinic (a shortened version--it is really something like Katarincic) are from very small villages off of the main road that runs from Metlika in Slovenia to Karlovac in Croatia. Metlika is on the Kupa River which is one of the northern boundaries between northern Croatia (west and a little north of Zagreb) and Slovenia. With respect to larger towns, Metlika is north of Karlovac (31 km) in Croatia and south of Novo Mesto (28 km) in Slovenia.
Figure 1. Map of the Metlika/Zagreb Area
John Jaksa's home village was in Brihovo which is next to a small town called Jurovski Brod. If you come from Metlika and cross the Kupa River, Jurovski Brod is right there. And then a little further south on the west side is a small road which comprises the village of Brihovo. Amelia Katrinic is from village up in the hills to the east whose entrance is further south on the same road to Karlovac, called Breznik. In between the two towns is a church where, among other things, John Jaksa and Amelia Katrinic were married. Today, all of the roads in the area are paved, except for the local roads (which are more like driveways) near the Katrinic homestead.
John Jaksa's house was in Brihovo, on the right side of the road, about 0.4 km from the main road, immediately after the road bends. The house is a small white stucco cottage with a red tile roof with a structure in the back (to the side) for hay and animals (probably pigs). However, the homestead is a little difficult to see since it is overgrown and there are several large trees surrounding the house. The house is vacant and the rear has collapsed but inside some furniture (e.g. a bed and dinette), wall hangings, and pictures remain. There is a spring (primary water source) about 50 yards down the slope (going from the house past the barn). Current ownership of the house, barn, and property is unknown.
The road leading to Amelia's homestead is easy to find and paved but it is quite narrow (single lane) and curvy in order to go up into the hills. (Here is the view from the village.) As the road crests, there is a small chapel which sits in the corner of a corner lot (and someone's house). At that point, you need to turn left to enter the village. (If you continue straight, you appear to enter private property.) Now finding Amelia's homestead is much trickier as the roads within Breznik are dirt and grass, curvy and bumpy, fork a lot, and look the same. The homestead is sort of to the left but then straight.... I can picture it in my mind. The house is gone but the hay barn and well (catch basin) remain.
John and Amelia were married in a church that is in between those two villages. The church is in good order, although in 2004, the church only had one service a week that was performed by a visiting priest from a nearby parish. The original school is near the church and the main cemetery can be seen on the hillside as you approach the church. In the small towns like these, very little English is spoken although the local school now requires the students to study four years of English. The cemetery, church, and original school are all off of a road that goes east from the main road (between Metlika and Karlovac). Once you turn on the road, you should see a sign for the village of Zakanje, the cemetery to the left, and the church further ahead on the hill. Joe also gave Jim Jaksa and Sarah some records from the church which listed all of the children in John Jaksa's family and their marriages.
Maps of the area can be ordered from http://www.viamichelin.com or purchased from a local bookstore in Croatia. Michelin is the best available source for maps in the US. You can go to their website, choose a map of Croatia, and zero in on the area you want to visit. For example, the map in Figure 1 shows Metlika (officially in Slovenia) which it is the largest town near Jurovski Brod (right across the border). If you look at that map, you will see a red road connecting Metlika southeast to Karlovac. Nonetheless, there aren't that many roads in Croatia and finding Jurovski Brod, Brihovo, and Breznik (at least coming from Zagreb) is pretty easy. There also is pretty good GSM (cell phone technology) coverage in Croatia. In fact, you can see a radio tower in this photo next to the church steeple.
The drive from Zagreb has a lot of variety. The first portion is simply exiting the city center which can take more time than expected depending on the time of day. Then comes the easiest part... the drive to Karlovac is all highway (tollway) so you can fine tune your radio presets and get used to shifting gears manually again. After exiting the highway and paying the toll in Karlovac, follow the signs toward Jurovski Brod. This will take you through a section of very curvy road, which can be quite fun if you enjoy that type of driving. After that, the road straightens out for the final quarter of the trip (by distance) and you will pass the castle at Ribnik. All in all, assuming no major delays getting out of Zagreb, it takes about 1.25 hours to drive from Zagreb to Jurovski Brod.
The war in the late early 1990's had no direct impact on this part of Croatia because there were no Serbs living there to support the Yugoslav federal army. However, in Karlovac, there was some fighting because Serbs were present there, it is close to Bihac, an area that Serbia took over temporarily, and because Karlovac is very industrial. At one point, Serbian forces held about two-thirds of Croatia. Signs of the war in Karlovac remain today as you can see pockmarks left from bullets in many of the buildings. There also remains a fair amount of tension between Croats and Serbs. Croats offered Serbs refuge when they were overtaken by the Turks in the early 1500's but then the 20th century Serbs tried to take over Croatia. Speaking of Turks, the furthest west that the Turks made it was supposedly the road from Metlika to Karlovac.
Someone who could help you in Croatia is Joe Majhan's brother Nicolas (officially "Nikola" Majhan in Croatian) who lives in Jurovski Brod. Here is a 2004 photo of Nicolas between Joe and his wife. Joe and Nicolas are grandchildren of John Jaksa's youngest sister (i.e. are second cousins of the "1400 E. Hill Road" Jaksa children). Nicolas is very friendly and very hospitable offering food, drink, and a place to stay for the night (with the opportunity to go to church on Sunday). He probably could take you to the "Yahksha doma" (homestead) in Brihovo, but he does not speak English. His children did not readily speak English either, although they definitely know some.
While I was in Croatia, I spent approximately one week in Zagreb which is the capital of Croatia. Zagreb has an excellent public transportation system although the city center is not very large so walking can suffice. There also is a very affordable bus operated by Croatian Airlines which usually runs every half hour between the airport and city bus terminal. In Zagreb, I took a number of walking tours (both organized and by myself) to see the sites. Among other things, I visited the Croatian National Theatre, The Cathedral, and Kaptol Fountain. However, one of the most popular activities is simply sitting at an outside cafe, having a drink, and talking and/or people watching. Additional information about Zagreb can be found at http://www.zagreb-touristinfo.hr.
As for other places to visit on a day trip from Zagreb... if you can get down to Plitvice Lakes National Park, probably a 2-3 hour drive from Zagreb, it is worth the effort. It is a simply beautiful place, and there is a hotel in the park. A few years ago, it reopened to visitors. The city of Split on the Adriatic coast is a beautiful town with many Roman ruins reflecting the era when Roman emperor Diocletian built his retirement palace there around 300 BC. However, it is a long way to Split, about 400 km driving and about 9 hours via train. Maribor to the north and Karlovac to the south are industrial towns--skip them. The land to the west is agricultural--skip it also.
To view all of the photographs that I took in Croatia, click here.