From Lika to Slavonia: One family’s story and 100 years of migration

Vlado Smolčić (Photo: Vinkovačke jeseni)

The story of families who left Croatia’s rugged Lika region in search of a better life in Slavonia is a common one.

Among those stories is that of Vlado Smolčić, better known in Vinkovci as Prsan, a horse breeder whose family roots lie in Lika but whose life has been firmly shaped by Slavonia.

His family’s journey began after the First World War when his paternal grandparents left Lika and settled in the fertile plains of eastern Croatia.

Like many others at the time, they were seeking better opportunities and a more secure future.

Smolčić says his father was born in Andrijaševci and later married a woman from a traditional Šokac family. Over time, the family embraced Slavonian customs and integrated fully into local life.

“People from Lika quickly accepted the Šokac way of life,” Smolčić recalls, noting that his father grew to love Slavonia deeply despite never having visited his ancestral homeland.

He credits his mother, who was well versed in traditional customs and folk dress, with helping preserve local heritage within the family. Their commitment to tradition has lasted generations.

Smolčić has been involved with the Vinkovci Autumn Festival since 1973. Since the age of eight, he has taken part as a horse rider or carriage driver and in recent years has also participated in the festival’s ceremonial opening.

According to stories passed down through his family, many migrants from Lika moved to Slavonia because of poverty and limited opportunities in their home region.

(Photo: Vinkovačke jeseni)

The fertile land offered better prospects for work, food and building a stable life.

Many arrived individually, travelling by ox cart and later by train. Over time, they established families and became part of the social and cultural fabric of Slavonia.

Smolčić believes there is a distinction between families who arrived after the Second World War and those who settled earlier. While later arrivals often maintained stronger ties to their Lika traditions, earlier generations became almost completely integrated into Slavonian life.

Although the Smolčić surname originates from Lika, he says his identity has always been closely linked to Slavonia.

Horses have played a significant role in the family’s story. Smolčić inherited his love of horses from his father and has remained committed to preserving that tradition, even long after mechanisation replaced horse-drawn transport in agriculture.

(Photo: Vinkovačke jeseni)

For him, the arrival of August and September each year signals the approach of Vinkovci Autumn Festival, an event he sees as a celebration of Slavonia’s cultural richness and the many communities that have contributed to it.

The festival, he says, showcases not only the heritage of Slavonia and the Šokac people but also the legacy of families who arrived from regions such as Lika, Dalmatia and Bosnia and ultimately made the area their home.

As preparations continue for this year’s event, Smolčić’s story reflects a wider chapter in Croatian history – one of migration, adaptation and belonging.

“Slavonia and Vinkovci – that is mine,” he says, summarising a lifelong connection to the region where his family built a new future nearly a century ago.

The story of families like Vlado’s who left Lika for Slavonia will take centre stage at this year’s 61st Vinkovci Autumn Festival.

(Photo: Vinkovačke jeseni)

Under the theme “The Train of the Slavonian Plain”, the festival will celebrate the experiences of people who arrived from different parts of the country and made Slavonia their home, embracing local customs and traditions while contributing to the region’s identity.