Syrmien. Dorf Oppatonatz.

Title

Syrmien. Dorf Oppatonatz.

Description

View shows the town of Opatovac on the Danube, Croatia.

ca. 1820

Artist

Kunike (1777-1838)

Adolf Kunike was a student at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1804. From 1808 to 1810 he studied history painting in Rome. In 1816 Kunike made contact with Alois Senefelder in Munich. In 1817 he opened his own lithographic institute in Vienna. Initially active as an artist herself, Kunike later limited herself to lithographic reproduction and the management of her own company, which became the foster home of artist's lithography, especially portraits and landscapes. He published series works, the most important of which are the two hundred and sixty Danube views according to the course of the Danube river from its origin to its outflow into the Black Sea ... which Kunike published in three editions in 1820, 1824, 1826. The majority of the pictures appearing in this work are by Jakob Alt.

Historical Description

Following the decisive Ottoman victories, Croatia was split into civilian and military territories, with the partition formed in 1538. The military territories would become known as the Croatian Military Frontier and were under direct Imperial control. Ottoman advances in the Croatian territory continued until the 1593 Battle of Sisak, the first decisive Ottoman defeat, and stabilisation of borders. The Ottoman wars instigated great demographic changes. Croats migrated towards Austria and the present-day Burgenland Croats are direct descendants of these settlers. o replace the fleeing population, the Habsburgs encouraged the Christian populations of Bosnia and Serbia to provide military service in the Croatian Military Frontier. Serb migration into this region peaked during the Great Serb Migrations of 1690 and 1737–39. Between 1797 and 1809 the First French Empire gradually occupied the entire eastern Adriatic coastline and a substantial part of its hinterland, ending the Venetian and the Ragusan republics, establishing the Illyrian Provinces.