Croatia’s biggest town larger than New York and Paris

Gospić (Photo credit: INekic /CC BY-SA 4.0)

With the largest surface area of any other town or city in Croatia, Gospić is larger than Berlin, New York, Paris, and many other cities.

Not only larger than numerous cities, Gospić also surpasses the territory of Croatia’s Međimurje County, which spans 729 km², Večernji list writes. 

Situated at the western edge of the Lika Field and at the foot of the Velebit Mountain, Gospić stands as the economic, administrative, religious, and cultural centre of the Lika-Senj County. 

It is territorially the largest town in Croatia and, besides Zagreb, Šibenik, and Osijek, it exceeds the size of Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, and many others.

Gospić covers 967.4 square kilometres, while Zagreb covers 641 square kilometres. 

In terms of other major Croatian cities, Šibenik spans 399.5 km², Zadar 194 km², Osijek 169 km², Varaždin 154 km², Rijeka 136 km², and Split 79.38 km². 

Smaller than Gospić are also Berlin covering 891.8 km², Kyiv with 839 km², New York with 783.8 km², Madrid with 604.3 km², Vienna with 414.6 km², Paris with 105.4 km², and Barcelona with 101.9 km².

According to the town’s website, Gospić includes suburban settlements that, together with urban settlements, form an economic entity connected by daily migration movements and the daily needs of the local population. 

Gospić consists of 50 settlements, including Aleksinica, Barlete, Bilaj, Brezik, Brušane, Budak, Bužim, Debelo Brdo I, Debelo Brdo II, Divoselo, Donje Pazarište, Drenovac Radučki, Gospić, Kalinovača, Kaniža Gospićka, Klanac, Kruščica, Kruškovac, Kukljić, Lički Čitluk, Lički Ribnik, Lički Osik, Lički Novi, Mala Plana, Medak, Mogorić, Mušaluk, Novoselo Trnovačko, Novoselo Bilajsko, Ornice, Ostrvica, Oteš, Pavlovac Vrebački, Počitelj, Podastrana, Podoštra, Popovača Pazariška, Rastoka, Rizvanuša, Smiljan, Smiljansko Polje, Široka Kula, Trnovac, Vaganac, Velika Plana, Veliki Žitnik, Vranovine, Vrebac, Zavođe, and Žabica.

According to the local Tourist Board, the name Gospić was first recorded in historical sources in 1604. At that time, it was a small settlement mentioned in 1574 as the village of “Gospojina.”

“An old legend says that in ancient times, two princesses traveled through this area. One of them, Gospava, was severely ill, but after drinking water from the river that flowed there, she was healed and named the region Lika. She built her tower there, which was named Gospić after her. There’s a legend that beside the tower, there was once a small church with a statue of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus in her arms, and that Gospić was named after it,” the Gospić Tourist Board said.