Šibenik


Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatian self-governing cities on the Adriatic, the capital and cultural, educational, administrative and economic center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the third-largest town in the Dalmatian region. As of 2021, the town has 31,115 inhabitants, while the municipality has 42,599 inhabitants.The seat is the Šibenik Diocese.
It was first mentioned on Christmas 1066 in a grant of Peter Krešimir IV, so it is also called "Krešimir's Town". Until the plague pandemic in 17th century it was the largest city on the entire eastern coast of the Adriatic. Šibenik was the de facto capital of the Croatia from December 1944 to May 1945. It is also significant as the place of Croatian Navy#Homeland War|foundation] of the Croatian Navy.
The Cathedral of St. James is the most significant architectural achievement of the 15th and 16th centuries on the soil of Croatia. Due to its exceptional values, it was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 2000, which was joined on that list by the Fortress of St. Nicholas.
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History

Etymology

There are multiple interpretations of how Šibenik was named. In his fifteenth-century book De situ Illiriae et civitate Sibenici, Giorgio Sisgoreo describes the name and location of Šibenik. He attributes the name of the city to it being surrounded by a palisade made of šibe 'switches/twigs'. Some argue the name is of Illyrian origin, or derived from the family name of the Šubićs. Another interpretation is associated with the forest through the Latin toponym Sibinicum, which covered a narrower microregion within Šibenik on and around the area of Fortress, Šibenik|St. Michael's Fortress].

Prehistory

Tarion was an ancient city located in the area between the Krka River in the north and Cape Ploče in the south, branching out along the coast. According to Pliny's notes, Tarion was the home of the Tarioti people, who were indigenous people. According to Pliny's notes, the Tarioti people mainly practiced a pastoral lifestyle, which can be determined by archaeological remains dedicated to the god Silvanus. Of course, in addition to their pastoral lifestyle, their geographical position allowed them to connect with other important cities of the time, such as Danilo, and to have a quality road connection, which is why it was important for the Romans themselves and the people who lived in the area.

Foundation and the Middle Ages

Šibenik is one of the oldest native Croatian towns on the Adriatic Sea. Not much is known about the earliest history of Šibenik, or the exact date of its foundation. According to current scientific discoveries, it is assumed that it was founded during the reign of Prince Domagoj in the 9th century. It initially developed as a fortress with an older suburb in the Dolac area and a younger one on the eastern side of the castle, where the church of St. Chrysogonus was built in the 12th century, around which the core of the medieval town later developed. Šibenik belonged to the group of so-called Croatian towns, and it arose on a hill 70 m above the sea. In the area of ​​Šibenik, no traces of ancient urban tradition have been found to this day, but there are certain indications of life in late antiquity. It was first mentioned on Christmas 1066 when King Peter Krešimir IV, at a meeting of high state and church dignitaries, issued a document granting royal freedom and protection to the Benedictine Monastery of St. Mary in Zadar. It was at this time that Šibenik was strengthened, as part of the king's efforts to create a counterbalance to the Romanesque cities of the Byzantine theme of Dalmatia with the help of Croatian cities. After the battle with the Hungarian army at the Peter's Mountain in 1097 and the death of the Croatian ruler Peter Snačić, Šibenik recognized the rule of the Croatian-Hungarian king Koloman in 1105.
In the period after the loss of the national ruler on the Croatian throne, Venice, Byzantium and Arpadović fought for power over Šibenik continuously until 1180. In the 12th century, in the legal sense, it was a fortified settlement, not a city, so its future efforts were directed towards achieving a city status, which would reach other Dalmatian cities, and then the princes of Bribir. During the reign of the latter, Šibenik became the episcopal seat and gained a city status, but it lagged behind economically due to heavy taxes and obligations. This was the cause of the outbreak of a rebellion against the Bribirski government; then, with the support of the Republic of Venice, the city managed to fight off the rule of Mladen II., but eventually lost its autonomy and the right to freely elect a prince, who was elected by the Venetians from then on. The city again came under Angevin rule after the defeat of the Venetian Republic in the war with Louis I Angevin and the signing of the Peace of Zadar. From 1390, together with other cities in Dalmatia, it recognized the rule of the Bosnian king Tvrtko I. Kotromanić, and at the beginning of the 15th century, of the Bosnian duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić and king Ladislav of Naples.
Unlike other cities along the Adriatic coast, which were established by Greeks, Illyrians and Romans, Šibenik was founded by Slavs. It was mentioned for the first time under its present name in 1066 in a Charter of the Croatian King Petar Krešimir IV and, for a period of time, it was a seat of this Croatian King. For that reason, Šibenik is also called "Krešimirov grad".
Between the 11th and 12th centuries, Šibenik was tossed back and forth among Venice, Byzantium, and Hungary. It was conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1116, who held it until 1124, when they briefly lost it to the Byzantine Empire, and then held it again until 1133 when it was retaken by the Kingdom of Hungary. It would change hands among the aforementioned states several more times until 1180.
The city was given the status of a town in 1167 from Stephen III of Hungary. It received its own diocese in 1298.

Under Venice

The city, like the rest of Dalmatia, initially resisted the Venetian Republic, but it was taken over after a three-year war in 1412. Under Venetian rule, Šibenik became in 1412 the seat of the main customs office and the seat of the salt consumers office with a monopoly on the salt trade in Chioggia and on the whole Adriatic Sea.
In August 1417, Venetian authorities were concerned with the "Morlachs and other Slavs" from the hinterland, that were a threat to security in Šibenik. The Ottoman Empire started to threaten Šibenik, as part of their struggle against Venice, at the end of the 15th century, but they never succeeded in conquering it. In the 16th century, St. Nicholas Fortress was built and, by the 17th century, its fortifications were improved again by the fortresses of St. John and Šubićevac.
The Morlachs started settling Šibenik during the Cretan War (1645–69). The fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797 brought Sebenico under the authority of the Habsburg monarchy.
The fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797 brought Sebenico under the authority of the Habsburg monarchy.
Annexed by the French Empire and included in its Illyrian Provinces during the Napoleonic Wars, the town became part of the Austrian monarchy after the Congress of Vienna. The compromise of 1867 brought it in the Austrian side of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1918. During this Austrian period, it was the capital of the district of the same name, one of the 13 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in the Kingdom of Dalmatia. The Italian name Sebenico only was used until around 1871.
In 1872, at the time in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Ante Šupuk became the town's first Croat mayor elected under universal suffrage. He was instrumental in the process of the modernization of the city, and is particularly remembered for the 1895 project to provide street lights powered by the early AC Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant. On 28 August 1895, Šibenik became the world's first city with alternating current-powered street lights.

Habsburg Monarchy

With the collapse of the Venetian state, Šibenik came under the rule of the Austria in 1797. This was preceded by popular unrest led by the pro-Austrian clergy who were afraid of secularists and the bourgeois revolution brought about by the French occupation of the Venetian Republic, and saw all the former Venetian officials as enemies. In these riots in Šibenik, the entire family of the honorary French consul was executed, and most of the other nobles fled to the neighboring islands. In early 1806, the French army entered the city and Šibenik became part of the French Empire, and from 1810 of the autonomous Illyrian Provinces, when after many centuries "Illyrian" briefly became the official language. At the beginning of the century, construction of the road to Knin via Konjevrate and Drniš began, which was completed in 1802, and after the arrival of the French, the road network towards Split, Zadar and Rijeka was improved. The French governors were appalled by the backwardness of Venetian Dalmatia, so they tried to modernize agriculture in it, establish a school system, build the first hospital, an orphanage, implement anti-epidemiological protection of the population, and modernize the administration and judiciary. After Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat, the Austrian army conquered Dalmatia and entered Šibenik at the end of 1813.
Šibenik remained part of the Habsburg Monarchy until 1918, as did the rest of the Kingdom of Dalmatia. The beginning of the second part of Austrian absolutist rule represented a period of stagnation in all areas of life. Austria raised strong border control towards Bosnia and defended caravan trade, maritime trade also declined due to the loss of sailing ships, and also due to Austria's lack of a naval strategy, which caused Šibenik to stagnate again. In 1839, the first signs of national awakening appeared, more precisely the Illyrian Movement, by two Šibenik Serbs, Božidar Petranović and Špiro Popović, who created a joint Croatian-Serbian front against the Italianization of Dalmatia. They were visited twice in 1841 by Gaj and Mažuranić. At the same time, among educated citizens, the autonomist and Italian current was even stronger and more widespread, seeing its idol in the Šibenik native Nicoli Tommase, who also became a minister in the government of the briefly restored Venetian Republic. It was not until 1848/49 that the political activity of Šibenik under Austrian rule became more strongly manifested, when a people's municipal assembly was briefly elected after a landslide victory over the autonomists. The Croatian national revival in the city grew stronger, and in 1851, ban Jelačić visited him, in whom the people placed their hopes that he would unite Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia, and the city gave him a welcome bigger than when Emperor Francis visited in 1818, but on the eve of Bach's absolutism, Jelačić did not mention unification in his welcoming speech. During the dictatorship, all political life died down for a whole decade and all pro-Slavic ideas were banned, which allowed the re-strengthening of the autonomists who won the first elections in 1865. A particularly significant event for the further development of folk reproducibility occurred in 1866 when the National Slavonic Reading Room was founded, and unlike other cities, the people of Šibenik built the theater themselves in 1870 without the help of the government and the municipality. The turning point occurred in the elections for the Dalmatian Parliament in 1870, when the People's Party won a landslide victory in Šibenik and its surroundings. In 1872, the nationalists won the municipal elections and the following year established the first Croatian municipal administration with Ante Šupuk as mayor, who greatly contributed to the economic and communal progress of the city, which until then was the largest working-class city on the Adriatic. During his term, the Croatian language was introduced as the official language in the municipal administration.

19th and 20th century

At the beginning of the 19th century, Šibenik society was considered class-based. They ate mainly barley products and various vegetables. Until the arrival of the French government, poor people lived in difficult living conditions in Šibenik. With the arrival of the French government on the territory of Šibenik, modernization began, which also brought a new system of social values ​​and attempted to eliminate inequality among the citizens of Šibenik who belonged to different classes. The hospital was renovated, and citizens could use it free of charge. In the 1870s, Šibenik began to experience even greater prosperity, and this period of Šibenik's history is called the "Šupuk era". At that time, Šibenik was promised a railway that would connect Šibenik with other cities and thus facilitate trade. One of the most important features of Šibenik's development in the 19th century is considered to be the construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the Krka River on August 28, 1895. Possession of a larger amount of electricity only meant accelerated development of Šibenik and enabled the development of various manufacturing and craft facilities.
During World War I, the Austro-Hungarian navy used the port facilities of Šibenik, and the light cruisers and destroyers which escaped the Allied force after the battle of Cape Rodoni returned to safety in the city, where some battleships were based. After the war Šibenik was occupied by the Kingdom of Italy until 12 June 1921 within the framework of the occupation of the eastern Adriatic. As a result of the Treaty of Rapallo, the Italians gave up their claim to the city and it became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. After World War I, the exodus of the Dalmatian Italians from the city began. During World War II, Šibenik was annexed by Italy and was part of the Italian Governorate of Dalmatia from 1941 to 1943 being part of the province of Zara. Communist partisans liberated Šibenik on 3 November 1944.
After World War II it became a part of the SFR Yugoslavia until Croatia declared independence in 1991.
During the Croatian War of Independence, Šibenik was heavily attacked by the Yugoslav People's Army and Serbian paramilitary troops. Although under-armed, the nascent Croatian army and the people of Šibenik managed to defend the city. The battle lasted for six days, often referred to as the "September battle". The bombings damaged numerous buildings and monuments, including the dome of the Šibenik Cathedral of St James and the 1870-built theatre building.
In an August 1995 military operation, the Croatian Army defeated the Serb forces and reconquered the occupied areas, which allowed the region to recover from the war and continue to develop as the centre of Šibenik-Knin county. Since then, the damaged areas of the city have been fully restored.

Geography

Šibenik is located at 43˚44' north latitude and 15˚55' east longitude. Geographical position of the city lies amphitheatrically around the Šibenik Bay, on the hills of Trtar, not far from the mouth of the Krka into the sea. It is connected to Zadar in the northwest and Split in the southeast by the Adriatic Highway, a highway and a railway. It is connected to the Šibenik islands by ferry connections. The relief is characterized by a very indented coast, a wide strip of the hinterland of the coastal-Dinaric karst of Zagora, a hilly area in the hinterland.
The landscape is diverse, and the sea is the greatest wealth and the basic natural resource that determines the economic basis. The air length of the coast is 56.2 km, and the actual length is as much as 805.9 km. The county is home to two national parks, Krka and Kornati, and the southeastern part of the nature park Vransko jezero. The average population density is 51.5 inhabitants per km2.

Climate

Šibenik has a mediterranean climate, with mild, humid winters and hot, dry summers. January and February are the coldest months, July and August are the hottest months. In July the average maximum temperature is around. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Csa".
Since records began in 1949, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station at an elevation of was, on 10 August 2017. The coldest temperature was, on 10 February 1956.

Main sights

Fortifications in Šibenik

In the city of Šibenik there are four fortresses, each of which has views of the city, sea and nearby islands. The fortresses are now tourist sightseeing destinations.

Natural heritage

Culture

The composer Jakov Gotovac founded the city's "Philharmonia Society" in 1922. The 19th-century composer Franz von Suppé was part of the city's cultural fabric, as he was a native of nearby Split.
Each summer, a number of concerts and events take place in the city, many of them in the St. Michael Fortress. Also, starting in 2016 on a nearby island of Obonjan, an annual music, art, health and workshop festival is being held.
The annual Šibenik International Children's Festival takes place every summer and hosts children's workshops, plays and other activities.
From 2011 to 2013 the Terraneo festival was held in August on a yearly basis on a former military area in Šibenik, and since 2014 Šibenik are the home of its spiritual successor Super Uho festival. Šibenik hosts the Dalmatian Chanson Evenings festival, held in the second half of August.

Sports

As famous sports town, Šibenik is the hometown of many successful athletes: Aleksandar Petrović, Dražen Petrović, Perica Bukić, Ivica Žurić, Predrag Šarić, Dario Šarić, Vanda Baranović-Urukalo, Danira Nakić, Nik Slavica, Miro Bilan, Dražan Jerković, Petar Nadoveza, Krasnodar Rora, Dean Računica, Mladen Pralija, Ante Rukavina, Duje Ćaleta-Car, Mile Nakić, Franko Nakić, Siniša Belamarić, Renato Vrbičić, Ivica Tucak, Andrija Komadina, Miro Jurić, Antonio Petković, Neven Spahija, Antonija Sandrić, Mate Maleš, Stipe Bralić, Franco Jelovčić, Nives Radić, Karmela Makelja, and many others.

Basketball

The famous multi-purpose Baldekin Sports Hall was the home arena of KK Šibenik, the famous basketball club which played in the final of the FIBA Korać Cup twice, as well as in the final of the 1982–83 Yugoslav league championship. The team was led by then 19-year-old Dražen Petrović.
The women's basketball club, ŽKK Šibenik, is among the most successful women's basketball clubs in Croatia, winning the Yugoslav league title in 1991, Yugoslav Cup title twice, Croatian league title four times, Croatian Cup four times, Adriatic league five times, and the Vojko Herksel Cup four times.
The dissolved men's basketball club, Jolly Jadranska banka, played in the play-offs semifinals of the Croatian league championship twice, as well as in the Krešimir Ćosić Cup final game in the 2016–17 season.
The biggest success of GKK Šibenka, a club founded in 2010 following the dissolution of the famous KK Šibenik, came in the 2016–17 Croatian league championship season, when the club played the play-offs semifinals against powerhouse Cibona Zagreb. Šibenka lost to Cibona in the semifinals.

Football

Šubićevac stadium, which is located in the neighbourhood of the same name, has been the home ground of the HNK Šibenik football club, which had played many years in the Yugoslav Second League, and later many years in the Croatian First League. In the 2009–10 season, the club played in the Croatian Cup final, which they lost to powerhouse Hajduk Split. As of 2021, the club again competes in the Croatian First League.

Mountaineering

The local chapter of the HPS, HPD "Kamenar", was in renewal in 1937.

Water polo

The dissolved water polo club, VK Šibenik, is considered to be one of the best men's clubs in former Yugoslavia, winning the second place in the 1986–87 domestic league season. It also played in the LEN Euro Cup final game of the 2006–07 season, but lost to Sintez Kazan, as well as the club played in the LEN Champions League in the 2008–09 season, led both times by Ivica Tucak, today the head coach of the senior men's Croatian national team.
Croatian water polo internationals, Perica Bukić and Renato Vrbičić, are Olympic medalists. They won gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Ivica Tucak has been the most successful coach of the senior men's Croatian national team ever.

Demographics

In the 2021 Croatian census, Šibenik's total city population was 42,599 which makes it the eleventh-largest city in Croatia, with 31,115 in the urban settlement.
Of Šibenik's citizens, 94.19% were ethnic Croats.
The administrative sections of the city are:
The list of settlements is as follows:
Throughout history, there was a significant Italian-speaking community in Šibenik. According to the Austrian censuses, there were 1,018 residents of the central settlement that used Italian as their habitual language in 1890, and 810 in 1910. The commune as a whole had 1,090 Italian speakers in 1890, and 836 in 1910. In 2011, only 16 people declared themselves as Italians, corresponding to 0.03% of the total population.

Economy

In the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, Šibenik was one of the most important economic centers of southern Croatia, and was economically significant in the trade, crafts and industry of Dalmatia. It was greatly helped by the transport connection with Lika and part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and due to the aforementioned transport connection, it was the main export port for wood and ores. Although part of the population was employed in the aforementioned economic branches, agriculture was still the main economic branch. They were mainly engaged in grape growing, olive growing and gardening.
According to the data of the Croatian Chamber of Economy, in the city of Šibenik in 2010, a total of 838 companies were registered, of which 3 were large, 12 medium-sized, and 823 small. Of the total number, 799 were limited liability companies, 16 joint-stock companies, 14 institutions, 8 public companies, and 1 company with a foreign founder. According to the Central Trades Register, in 2010, there were 1,321 registered tradesmen in Šibenik. According to the Register of Associations, in 2010, there were 445 registered associations with headquarters in the City of Šibenik.
Today, Šibenik is the capital, cultural, educational, administrative and economic center of the Šibensko-kninska županija, which has 46,332 inhabitants. Until the 1980s, Šibenik was a strong industrial center, the Šibenik port was among the largest in the former Yugoslavia, but an economic decline occurred, and in the 1990s, TEF ceased operations, and TLM, which was significantly damaged in the Greater Serbian aggression, significantly reduced production capacities.

Šibenik Port

The Šibenik Port had an important influence on the development of the economy in the city of Šibenik. During the Austro-Hungarian rule, the Šibenik Port was the third most important port. At that time, the city of Šibenik and its port played an extremely important role as indispensable urban and port environments in the process of socio-economic integration of the Adriatic region on the one hand, as well as connecting that region with the Balkan hinterland on the other.
Šibenik is one of the best protected ports on the Croatian Adriatic and is situated on the estuary of the Krka River. The approach channel is navigable by ships up to 50,000 tonnes deadweight. The port itself has depths up to 40 m.
The city of Šibenik has started the construction and expansion of the port. According to the idea of ​​the architect Puljiz, on the space of 44,000 square meters, where the terminal will be located, a cruise ship of up to 260 meters, a large ferry of 180 meters, and two liners of 60 meters each will be able to dock at the same time. The terminal would be environmentally friendly and would use thermal pumps immersed in the sea for heating and cooling, and with solar collectors that would be integrated into the roof structure, the terminal would thus provide up to 40 percent of its energy needs. The total investment amounts to 24 million euros, and the completion of the works is expected by 2014 or 2015.

Transportation

Šibenik has a railway station which is a terminus of the local Perković - Šibenik railway, a branch of M604 railway connecting Zagreb and Split via Knin. The train services are operated by Croatian Railways.
Bus station Šibenik is connected by daily bus lines with the surrounding towns such as Vodice, Pirovac, Biograd na Moru. There are good connections to major cities across Croatia: Rijeka, Crikvenica, Zagreb, Osijek, Zadar, Split, Makarska, Dubrovnik.
Šibenik does not have an airport, instead, air traffic is done through either Split Airport or Zadar Airport, although Šibenik-Pokrovnik Airport has been officially planned and approved by Government of Croatia.

International relations

Šibenik is twinned with: