Cetingrad was built in the vicinity of the ruins of the
mediaeval fortress of
Cetin. The Middle Ages was the golden era of Cetin. Near the fortress there was
Franciscan monastery and several churches. At that time Cetin was the property of
Frankopan family and it played important role in
History of Croatia. from 1527 After defeat in
Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Croatian nobility gathered at Cetin to conduct the
1527 election in Cetin, where they elected
Habsburg Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria as the
king of Croatia. The
charter signed by Croatian nobles and representatives of Ferdinand of Habsburg is among most important documents of Croatian statehood and is preserved in
Austrian State Archives in
Vienna. In next centuries Cetin was part of
Military Frontier, the borderland between
Habsburg monarchy and
Ottoman Empire. During this period Ottoman army took control over it several times. The fortress was several times damaged and repaired. In 1790 Austrian troops under the command of general Walisch
finally returned back Cetin Castle to the Habsburg monarchy. In 1809 Ottoman forces once again occupied Cetin but in 1810 they withdrew under the threats of
Marshal Marmont, governor-general of
Illyrian provinces. When the Ottoman threat was gone the fortress was abandoned and used as
quarry. Administrative control was transferred to village of Cetingrad which developed north to the Cetin. In the 19th and 20th century the area was rarely populated and without any real opportunity for economic development. During
World War II area once again experienced great suffering and destruction and after the war
socialist Yugoslavia neglected this area. Due to poverty population was forced to migrate, first overseas and later to European countries. During the
Yugoslav Wars, Cetingrad and the surrounding area was militarily conquered. It was part of the
Republic of Serb Krajina until 1995. Most of Cetingrad's population spent four years in exile. Serb rebels burnt and then destroyed the biggest Roman Catholic church in Slunj deanery (church of
Assumption of Mary, crkva Marijina Uznesenja, built in 1891). The church was later rebuilt. In May 1995, Cetingrad was the site of a helicopter crash, caused by a missile fired by Serbs, in which the foreign minister of
Bosnia and Herzegovina Irfan Ljubijankić and six others were killed. In August 1995 during the
Operation Storm Croatian army took Cetingrad. After 1995, Cetingrad was successfully rebuilt and large number of people returned to their homes. ==Demographics==