Karlovac, Croatia

Capital City

The population of 49,377 may seem manageable, but Karlovac's heavy bureaucracy is a persistent headache for residents. The city's location at the crossroads of trade routes was once an asset, but the construction of the Zagreb-Sisak railway line in 1861 marked the end of its reign as a major commercial hub. Karlovac's reputation as the "city of parks" rings true, with its lush greenery and four winding rivers, but the climate can be punishing - temperatures have reached as high as 42.4°C. This former military outpost is not for the faint of heart; the scars of the Croatian War of Independence are still visible, and the city's Serb population has dwindled significantly since the 1990s. Overall, Karlovac offers a dose of small-town Croatia, but its charms are diminished by a heavy-handed bureaucracy and a turbulent past.