Kuterevo

Kuterevo is a Velebit village within the City of Otočac, set on Kuterevska Kosa at 559 metres above sea level. Its modern identity centres on the Refuge for Young Bears, established in 2002 by the Velebit Association Kuterevo with the Croatian environmental education centre and Zagreb’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The refuge cares for orphaned bears, teaches visitors about wildlife and works with international volunteers; its Volunteer Station followed in 2005. Yet Kuterevo offers more than a bear encounter. The village preserves the making of the kuterevka, its distinctive version of the dangubica string instrument, alongside wooden rural craftsmanship and a Kajkavian speech form associated with settlers who arrived in 1690. The parish church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel remains a focus of village tradition, and the 300th anniversary of its consecration was marked in 2025. A visit is most rewarding from spring through autumn, outside the bears’ winter resting period and when volunteers or local guides welcome visitors.

Kuterevo is a Lika village on Velebit’s north-eastern slopes, beside the boundary of Velebit Nature Park and within the City of Otočac area. Its defining site is the Velebit Refuge for Young Bears, a project launched in 2002 by the Velebit Association Kuterevo with the Croatian Centre Knowledge for Environment and Zagreb’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The refuge takes in orphaned cubs and makes visitor education part of its work. A volunteer station, operating since 2005, links Kuterevo’s mountain-community tradition with conservation and hands-on volunteering.