Residents of Rupe remember Vuk Mandušić, a national hero in the battle against the Turks

Historians, members of the Rupska Zvona association and local residents gathered around the former home of Rupe hero, Vuk Mandušić near Skradin to commemorate the 373^rd anniversary of his death. Present at the commemoration were Florijan Paić, president of the Rupska Zvona association; Dr. Marinko Šišak, president of the Skradin branch of Matrix Croatica; Dane Jurić, national gusle player from Dubravica; Ive Burić, folk poet from Mirlović Zagore; Father Stojan Damjanović, Vice-master of the Visovac novices, and Katia Župan, spokesperson for the Public Institute of Krka National Park. Participants remembered the historical context of the Croatian territory under numerous conquerors, from the 17^th century to the present day. Father Stojan Damjanović sung a hymn dedicated to Vuk Mandušić in a folk sonnet he published recently the book Visovac – Gospina oaza mira [Visovac – Our Lady’s Oasis of Peace], and Joško Čelar marked the occasion with a few words and his indispensable camera. Vuk Mandušić was one of the leaders of the Croatian population from the Dalmatinska Zagora inland region who fled from Ottoman occupied territory in 1648 to the territory under Venetian rule (Šibenik) to join those forces. He quickly rose to become the commander of the Croatian folk in the battles against the Ottoman near Drniš, Knin, Vrlika and Klis in the first phase of the Cretan War (1645 – 1669). He was seriously wounded in the battle near the Zečevo Tower, captured by the Ottomans, and executed on 31 July 1648. The sable of national hero Vuk Mandušić is stored in the treasury of the Franciscan monastery on Visovac Island, as an important artefact of Croatia’s historical heritage.