Karlobag is a municipality and a coastal town with 460 inhabitants (3 meters above sea level) is situated on the Adriatic Highway at the foot of Velebit. It is connected with Gospic and the Plitvice lakes by the road over the Baske Ostarije pass (927 meters). It used to be called Bag. Since 1579, after the invasion of the Turks, it was given to the Archduke Karlo who renamed it Karlobag.
On the hill, right above the town, there are the remnants of the mediaeval city, which are well preserved. In the Roman times there was a town called Veqium in the vicinity. It was mentioned as a parish in 1070, during the reign of the Croatian king Kresimir. It obtained municipal administration in 1432. The Capuchin monastery with the church was erected in 1712.
From the 18th century parochial church only a belfry was preserved. There are a few baroque houses in the place, as well as a well kept seaside resort, a camping site, a health service, the Zagreb Hotel with annexes. There is also a hotel on Velebit, in Draznice, as well as in the nearby Ostarije. South of Karlobag there is Vidovec with the town of Vid, a building in the shape of a quadrangle, and at its foot there are the ruins of the mediaeval church of St. Vid.
The fortress Kava in Karlobag is a very significant locality, which should be giving a special quality to Karlobag with its historical values and the future facilities inside this complex. The old town developed at the end of the 14th century and it was built by the Kurjakovic family. It was destroyed by the Turks but renewed after 1813. Here is now being built a complex of a cultural-historical museum.
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