SIBENIK CROATIA
The answers are based on our knowledge and our experience
F. A. Q. about Šibenik – Croatia
What to do or visit in Šibenik?
At Sibenik city of Croatia you could visit the old city center, Little loggia, cathedral of st. Jakov, Prince’s palace, old city Hall, St. Mihovil’s fortress, Šibenik’s city museum, Šibenik is not far away from National Park Krka, it is 14 kilometers away from NP Krka.
What is Šibenik like?
Šibenik is a classic Mediterranean city, which in the old city center is similar in style to Venice.
What airport to Sibenik OF CROATIA?
There are two options, Split (Resnik) or Zadar (Zemunik) airport.
How far is Šibenik to Split?
It is 80 kilometers away from Split.
How far is Šibenik to Zadar?
It is around 80 kilometers away from Zadar.
How far is Šibenik from Krka National park?
It is 14 kilometers away from NP Krka.
How old is Sibenik OF CROATIA?
Šibenik town is more than 950 years old.
What is population of Šibenik OF CROATIA?
Around 50,000.
Is it possible to visit Šibenik by boat?
Yes it is possible.
IN SHORT ABOUT SIBENIK
The town of Šibenik has historically been one of the most important Croatian coastal cities. It was first mentioned in 1066 in the Grant of King Peter Kresimir IV and is therefore still called Kresimir’s town today. He also served as the capital of Croatia in the period between 1944 and 1945. The Croatian Navy was established in the same city. It was also the largest city on the eastern side of the Adriatic until the plague. Sibenik is also known as a city of young people and athletes, although singers whom Sibenik has introduced a lot can easily be included in this category. Today, Šibenik has a population of about 50,000.
With all of the above, it can be concluded that Sibenik has always been a very important city in Croatia. That’s the way it is today. Today it is a modern tourist Mediterranean city that perfectly blends tourism, luxury yachts and hotels with a long history and landmarks, and various buildings that have been preserved to this day in perfect condition. Also here is the highly acclaimed first-class gastronomic offer with which the city abounds. Today it is one of the indispensable destinations in the Croatian tourist offer, a safe historical city, together with its incredible archipelago makes Šibenik a top destination.
HISTORY OF SIBENIK OF CROATIA
1169 by the Hungarian king Stephan the III. Šibenik gets the status of a city and the right to forge money. Nevertheless, it was not until 1298 that Sibenik founded its own diocese, the Diocese of Sibenik. The church of St. Jakov the Apostle. It was destroyed by fire in 1380. Soon, the construction of a new, larger cathedral began to be considered. After that, Sibenik came under the Venetian rule in a semi-peaceful way. Namely, King Ludovik sold to Venice his right to rule over the province of Dalmatia and therefore to rule over Sibenik. That trade went on peacefully for 10,000 then-ducats. However, we stated earlier that the handover to the authorities did not take place quite calmly because the city’s inhabitants refused to obey to the Venetians and a conflict broke out which eventually prevailed in favor of Venice and they finally put Sibenik under their control in 1412.
Despite opposition and resistance against Venice, history has shown that this period was the golden age of Sibenik. During this period, the construction of St. Jakov’s Cathedral was initiated, the city’s most important cultural and historical monument, then a movement so-called Humanist Circle, which we will discuss later, and a series of defensive ramparts and walls due to the imminent threat of the Turkish conquest.
The battle of Sibenik itself took place in 1647. It was Turkey’s largest attack on the city and at the same time the most dramatic and devastating attack on the city in its history. Shortly thereafter, the city suffered another major affliction that further contributed to the devastation of both the city and its inhabitants. It was a plague. The plague decimated the city, causing its prolonged setbacks and slow recovery.
Historically, the plague has conquered both Sibenik and the rest of Europe, and therefore one of the reasons for the collapse of Venice lay in this. It happened in 1797 when Napoleon I. Bonaparte conquered Venice, which then ceased to exist. After the collapse of Venice, in 1797 Sibenik became part of the Habsburg Monarchy, within which (with short-lived French rule 1809-1815) it remained until the end of World War I. On November 6, 1918, Italian warships sail into the port of Sibenik and land the occupation forces. During the Italian occupation, on Christmas Day 1918 there was a showdown between Šibenik and Italian sailors. At that time, the Italian destroyer Audace, anchored in front of the city, bombed Sibenik with almost 1,000 cannon shells.
The Italian occupation lasted until June 12, 1921, when the city was finally annexed to the Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes. As Zadar remained in Italy and Sibenik was the closest junction with the railway in Dalmatia, Šibenik took over the vast majority of Zadar’s port traffic and gradually developed into an important port. On April 15, 1941, the Italians again occupied Sibenik. During the Second World War, the people of Sibenik were overwhelmingly partisans. Many people from Sibenik were forced to join the partisans as early as 1941, most of them voluntarily joining in 1943 after the capitulation of Italy, when the city came under German military rule and the formal civil authority of the Independent State of Croatia. During 1943 and 1944 the city was bombed by the Allies. On that occasion, the old town center, including the town hall, was damaged.
The Partisans liberated Sibenik on November 3, 1944. The city was also the seat of ZAVNOH and thus the de facto capital of Croatia from December 31, 1944 to May 13, 1945. During the socialist Yugoslavia, the city expanded and new factories and plants opened. . With the opening of the Šibenik Bridge (1963) and the Adriatic Highway, the position of the city improved significantly. In 1979, part of the Mediterranean Games competition in Split was held in Šibenik and its surroundings. Since then, Šibenik has been constantly evolving towards a modern Mediterranean city, which is today tourist and hotel leader of its county.
HUMANISTIC CIRCLE
The Humanistic Circle is a sort of cultural and worldview, departure from the Middle Ages and its mental heritage that has spawned many intellectuals and other eminent people. The Šibenik Humanities Circle is notable for opening many doors to the city in Europe that later benefited from it in many ways. Humanism itself later, to which the Humanist Circle is a precursor, would be described as follows: Humanism is a period of late medieval history characterized by the desire to learn about and inherit classical Roman and Greek literatures and civilization.
The beginnings are found in Italian cities of the 14th century, but humanism flourished during the 15th century, when it extended to much of Europe. It is characterized by an eclectic use of ancient philosophy and its incorporation into Christian medieval philosophy and its belief in the ability and worth of man. The ideal of humanism is a versatile man (l’uomo universale) who develops all-round mental faculties, a free spirit that seeks to reconsider established beliefs, as well as to acquire new knowledge in the field of social and natural sciences. In a general sense, humanism is any system of thought and action that puts man and his needs first.
Followers of humanism (humanists) stand out as a distinct social stratum that includes scientists and cultural workers, as well as rulers and other representatives of the social elite (courtiers, condotters, aristocrats). The period of humanism prepared the revival of science and art in Europe (the Renaissance). The principal representatives are: Francesco Petrarca, Giovanni Boccaccio, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, L. Valla, Thomas More, H. Grotius, Johannes Reuchlin, Erazmo Rotterdam, P. Melanchthon; with Croats: Ivan Cesmicki, Marko Marulic and others.
ECONOMY AND TOURISM
Sibenik’s economy has in recent years successfully shifted from industry, shipbuilding and specialized light metals factories to tourism, luxury hotel industry, shipbuilding of smaller specialized boats and yachts, and overhaul of luxury vessels. Tourism and nautical tourism in particular is very significant in this area today. Hotel complexes such as Solaris and yacht moorings provide various access and stay options in the city. Also the proximity of Rogoznica, Primosten and Krka National Park also significantly contribute to the tourist position of the town of Sibenik in Croatia. As far as sports are concerned, Sibenik has a lot to boast about, so one of the most famous Sibenik players, certainly is deceased basketball player, Drazen Petrovic, but also many long-celebrated athletes, Olympians and the like.
SIGHTS AND MONUMENTS – SIBENIK CROATIA
One of the interesting things is related to the name of the city, namely the word “Šibenik” in Ukrainian means “devil boy”. From the monuments to architecture and cultural heritage, it is worth mentioning the fortress of St. Mihovil, the prince’s palace, the town hall of Sibenik, a Small Loggia and of course the cathedral of St. Jakov. The fortress of St. Mihovil rises from a stone hill about 70 meters above the sea and is a very visible and recognizable cultural monument. The fort is in very good condition, very well preserved.
Today’s Sibenik (Croatia) began its life first as a tribal Croatian fortress – castrum – after the Croats had largely moved down to the Adriatic coasts and built at the mouth of the Krka River in the middle of a spacious natural harbor a steep cliff, at the foot of which, on the slopes towards the sea, building a town settlement, today the districts of Gorizia and Dolac. Castrum was first mentioned in 998. It was built to control and defend the entrance to the Bay of Sibenik and the Krka River Canyon, which used to sail the most important city of Skradin, which has existed since ancient times, until then. Throughout history, it has been the dominant point of the Šibenik fortification system. Over time, the fort was rebuilt and modernized, demolished and rebuilt, and in the Middle Ages gained its final form.
The Small Lloggia was built in the 16th century, probably on the site of an older building. It is located on the east side of the old main town square (today the Republic Square), between the Sibenik town hall and the cathedral of Sv. Jakov. The small loggia served as the venue for public auctions and court summonses. Today, only a beautiful stone portal and three pillars with three arcades remain, of which the middle pillar served as a pillar of shame (the so-called Berlin).
The Duke’s Palace in Šibenik is part of the coastal defense system of the town of Sibenik (Croatia) and was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is located near the Cathedral of Sts. Jakov. From the original palace are preserved two wings of the once much larger building in which the city prince (captain), the highest representative of the state government in Sibenik, resided. The south wing extends along the coast from the square to the polygonal tower. The rectangular tower, known as the Tower of the Prince’s Palace, is the largest defensive building on the coast and dates from the 14th century. Between it and the Episcopal Palace are preserved the 16th century Renaissance city gate. In the middle of the ground floor of the south wing of the Rector’s Palace is a Gothic passage with a city gate over which is the city coat of arms with the image of St. Mihovil, the patron saint of the city.
The town hall was certainly the most respected civilian object of medieval Šibenik, and today it is one of the most famous cultural monuments of Krešimir’s town. Many consider it one of the most beautiful Croatian town halls at all. It was built in the first half of the 16th century, namely between 1533 and 1546, in the High Renaissance style, and is distinguished by its exceptional harmony. The chief architect is unknown. The building consists of ground floor and first floor. The ground floor begins with a porch with nine flat circular arches, typical of the Renaissance style, which rest on ten pillars above which extends a cornice with bases with reliefs of large lion’s heads. The ground floor once housed city government offices, while city council meetings were held upstairs in a representative hall. The front of the floor is divided by columns, and in the lower part is decorated with balustrade and richly decorated balcony (reliefs of lion’s heads and floral ornament).
To the left of the Gadish town hall is a small bell tower whose bell called the city nobles to council. In the 18th century, on both sides of the town hall, Sibenik builder Ivan Skok made very beautiful stairs. During World War II, on December 13, 1943, the town hall was completely destroyed during the Allied air raid on a city under German occupation. After the war, it was reconstructed in its original form under the expert guidance of the architect Harold Bilinić, and its interior was equipped in accordance with the new uses of the building. On the first floor of the town hall there is still a representative hall where civil marriages are arranged, and sometimes there are city events, while the ground floor is converted into a catering facility.
Cathedral of Sv. Jacob in Šibenik is the most significant architectural achievement of the 15th and 16th centuries in Croatia. Due to its exceptional values, the cathedral was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. Construction began in 1431 and continued with interruptions until 1536. The first decade of its rise was the work of Venetian Gothic builders and Sibenik stone-craftsmen Andrija Budčić and Budiša Statčić. During this time, the south and north walls were built, the lower, Gothic part of the facade and both portals of the church. The Cathedral was staffed by Juraj Dalmatinac, Radivoj Bogosalic, Radonja Grubacevic and Nikola Markovic.
When the diocese was founded in 1298, the existing church of St. Jakov ( Jacob ) in the main town square was promoted to the Church of the Table, but as it was small and inappropriate it was decided on the same occasion that the bishop and the city provide the funds for the construction of the new cathedral. At the end of the 14th century, after the Venetian invasion, the old cathedral of St. Jacob was damaged, it was decided to build a new one, and in 1402, with the commitment of Bishop Bogdan Pulšić, a fund was set up to build it.
Due to unfavorable political circumstances and then various other adversities that plagued Šibenik (the plague and fires), construction of the new cathedral began only three decades later with the foundation stone in 1431. The cathedral was completed in 1536, and in 1555 It was consecrated by Bishop Ivan Lucija Štafilić. After a thorough renovation in the 19th century, the cathedral was re-dedicated in 1860.
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