54km (32 miles) SW of Zagreb; 90km (54 miles) N of Plitvice National Park This leafy river town 54km (32 miles) and less than an hour from Zagreb has all the right elements to stand out as a model of baroque architecture and clever city planning. However, war and neglect have left their marks, and many of Karlovac's treasures are crumbling and in deplorable condition. The city of Karlovac was established by the Austro-Hungarians in 1579 as a military installation to defend against the encroaching Turks. Because of its strategic position between the Kupa and the Korana rivers and its proximity to the Mreznica and Dobra rivers, Karlovac has been on the front line of battles spanning 4 centuries. Many of Karlovac's stately baroque buildings still bear significant scars from Serbian artillery, and others are towering examples of the former socialist government's indifference to beauty, but the town is showing signs of renewal. Originally, the city's medieval footprint was in the form of a six-pointed star set within a system of moats. Today the star-shaped layout is still intact, but it now is a green space that includes the Franjo Tudman Promenade, a 2.4km-long (1.5-mile) path lined with chestnut trees that meanders around the central city. When you approach Karlovac from any direction, it looks like a blue-collar industrial town ringed by middle-class suburbs. It's easy to miss the Old Town farther in, once a wealthy cluster of baroque homes and bu
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