History Plitvice - Historical and Cultural Information about Plitvice
Humans were inhabiting the area of Plitvice Lakes for thousands of years.
The Plitvice Lakes had became in the late 19th century a major tourist attraction. The first hotel was built there in 1896, and as early as 1893 it already had a conservation committee. The communist government of Yugoslavia nationalised the lakes and made them a national park in 1949. In 1979 the park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in recognition of its "outstanding natural beauty, and the undisturbed production of travertine through chemical and biological action".
The park soon became one of Yugoslavia's biggest tourist attractions. In March 1991 the park was held by forces of the Republic of Serbian Krajina during the conflict in the Croatian War of Independence and suffered some damage in the process, with hotels and other facilities being used as barracks. It was retaken by the Croatian Army in August 1995 during Operation Storm.
UNESCO added the park to its List of World Heritage in Danger. The Croatian government made it a priority for its de-mining efforts, due to the economic importance of the park and in December 1998 UNESCO recognised the park's newly mine-free status by removing it from the list of endangered sites.
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