Otočac

Otočac stood among the waters of the Gacka in a mountain basin of Lika, its fortified settlement guarding the approaches to the Adriatic coast. The Frankopan lords held the town in the Middle Ages, before King Matthias Corvinus incorporated it into the defenses of Senj in 1469. A separate captaincy was established at Otočac as the frontier with the Ottoman Empire hardened.

In 1543 the Croatian commander Petar Keglević defeated an Ottoman force near the town. After the Uskoks were relocated from Senj, some settled in the Gacka district and built the triangular Fortica above Otočac, with three round towers overlooking the settlement. The captaincy lasted until 1746, when the Military Frontier was reorganized and Otočac became the headquarters of a regiment. As the immediate Ottoman threat receded, the town expanded beyond its old defenses.