Fjaka – the art of doing nothing
April 27, 2020
The legend of the haunted treasure of Vrlika region
According to a story that has been retold in the Vrlika region since the First World War, in the ruins of the Glavaš-Dinarić fortress there are ducats that soldiers-thieves hid there.
Namely, the Vrlika folk costume is interesting not only because of the cultural and historical heritage, but also because of the fact that some models were decorated with silver ducats, which, unfortunately, became the target of robberies.
Locals remember:
"It happened in the "Great War". Two men in a gray car headed to the Glavaš fortress. In front of the fortress they left the car carrying out big bags. They took the bags into the fortress and after a while - a large flame showed from the fortress, and not long after there was a gunshot. One soldier jumped into the car and ran away, so we peeked into the fortress. On a pile of half-burned clothes there was a body of the dead soldier. As we didnt know if more of them were coming, we escaped from the fortress and didn't talk to anyone of what we had witnessed. In the spring that same year, I returned to the fortress - said one of the locals. There was no sign of the body of the dead soldier, only the remains of burnt Vrlika clothes, without any gold ornaments.
Ten years passed, until one day, a week before the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, when after the traditional mass we saw the car in front of the Glavaš fortress. It was the same grey car we saw 10 years ago and it felt spooky.. The man who left the car was dressed as a hunter, and he went straight into the fortress. In the noon silence, the rolling of stones was clearly heard. The hunter was looking for something. We wondered if it was one of those soldiers who came back for the hidden gold? Suddenly we heard a scream, and we ran to help. The "hunter" was lying on a pile of stones, clenching his hands around the neck of a large snake, whose teeth were driven into his neck. When we appeared the snake released the hunter and disappeared in the walls of the fort, a few moments later the hunter died.
The locals still believe that the snake who killed the hunter was actually the reincarnation of that young slain soldier who wanted revenge. It is also believed that this same snake still lives hidden in the walls of the fort, guards long-buried treasure and waits for the new souls of traitors.
Today, Glavaš is just the ruin of a once powerful fortress whose purpose was to control the road to Bosnia and which at the time of the Ottoman Empire's attack on the Croatian Kingdom was on the front line of defense next to the Prozor fort near Vrhrika (Vrlika) and the Potravnik fort near Potravlje.
Valuable archaeological artifacts have also been found in the area of the fort. A lot of materials were found in the research that lasted for four years, from kitchen and table ceramics to the equestrian equipment of the then building material, ceramic pipes and money. The research was carried out by the staff of the Museum of the City of Knin under the guidance of archaeologist mr. Katarina Gugo Rumštaj.
