In the year 1773, Austrian empress Maria Theresa decided that Petrinja was to be a craft guild center for the entire territory of the Military Frontier.

During the Second World War, with the establishment of the so-called Independent State of Croatia (a fascist puppet state), Petrinja and the surrounding area were the scene of persecution of the Serbian, Jewish and Roma minorities, but also of harsh repression of many Croatian anti-fascists, in a context of armed struggle between partisans and local collaborators of the Axis forces.

[6] Recent history has witnessed the war in Croatia during which many people (Croats first, then the Serbs in 1995) were exiled from their hometown of Petrinja in the period from September 1991 to August 1995.

On November 25, 1991, the Serb mayor of Petrinja Radovan Marković sent a message to Željko Ražnatović to have his troops enter the city as part of a "2. motorized battalion" of the 622.

[8] During the occupation of Petrinja and surrounding areas, from September 1991 until August 1995, Serb forces committed numerous mass killings against Croat and other non-Serb civilians and POWs.

[citation needed] On 29 December 2020, the town was struck by a violent earthquake of magnitude 6.4 Mw, killing seven people, including a seven-year-old girl.

High impact of the war from the 1990s is felt through the abandonment and depopulation of many villages and closure of many farms which used to supply local meat packing plant Gavrilović [hr] and dairy processors from other cities.

Former Finel furniture factory now mostly lays abandoned while there are current plans to activate part of its capacity for hardwood flooring manufacturing.

have been registered by many small farmers but just a few are producing in larger quantity and being able to offer fresh or processed meat, fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs to markets.

After the liberation from Ottoman rule at the end of the 16th century, Petrinja started attracting craftsmen and merchants who helped developing the town.

There is a very lively tradition of the potting and ceramic crafts, which represent the main souvenir production of the items characteristic for this area, all made of high quality clay.

A statue of Croatian politician Stjepan Radić was made in Petrinja in 1929 by Mila Wood after his assassination the previous year.

[16] The municipal area includes the following settlements (listed here with their respective 2011 population census numbers):[16] Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs.