Marjan Hill

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Marjan Hill is a low lying mountain landform on the peninsula of the city of Split, in Croatia's Dalmatia region. It is covered in a dense Mediterranean pine forest and completely surrounded by the city and the sea, making it a unique sight, originally used by Diocletian's Palace in the third century AD as a park. It is a favourite weekend excursion destination and a recreational center of the local populace. It is also the setting of numerous beaches and jogging trails as well as tennis courts and the city zoo, all surrounded by the scenic forest. Also, the tip of the peninsula houses the "Institut za Oceanografiju i Ribarstvo" (IZOR) (Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries). The hill is 189 meters tall and offers a breathtaking view on the entire city, the surrounding islands, and the nearby mountains of Mosor and Kozjak

[edit] History

In ancient times Emperor Diocletian built his palace a few minutes walk from Marjan Hill. This opulent city palace city actually was inhabited by a population of 8000 to 10,000 people,^[1] who required parks and recreation space; therefore, Diocletian established such outdoor areas at Marjan Hill.^[2] There is also a small rustic 13th century AD church situated on Marjan Hill.^[3]

Marjan has become a symbol of Split in the last century and a half. Before that it was considered an ordinary part of the landscape. As the city grew, however, it was left out because of its rocky and difficult terrain, and became, in effect, a part of the wilderness next to the very center of the city. Soon the citizens started to frequent it as a picnic spot and a romantic retreat, its many beaches adding to its popularity as well.

During the Second World War, Marjan was the subject of a popular Partisan song "Marjane, Marjane", sung by the Split (and Dalmatian) members of that anti-fascist movement and was reportedly a favorite song of resistance leader and future president of the new SFR Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito. Indeed the flamboyant Partisan leader was so fond of the hill itself, he chose it as the site for the summer residence of the Yugoslav president, Vila Dalmacija. In the 1950s, during the period of the second Yugoslavia, the Federal Government, in conjunction with local Split authorities, undertook a massive project for the transformation of the wild hill into a forest park, recreating the park setting Diocletian had established 1700 years earlier. The hill was intensively forested (large parts of it were barren until then), many recreational facilities were built, including jogging tracks, a road system encircling the peninsula, a maritime research institute, the Split City ZOO (now fallen into disrepair), botanical garden (recently abandoned) and a water pipeline reaching all the way to the top of the hill. The authorities also constructed the city weather station and two vidilice, or "look-out points", as resting places connected with a long stairway all the way to the Diocletian's Palace, the "Riva" promenade and the rest of the city center.

[edit] See also

• Jadro River
• Marjane, Marjane

Split bike tour crossing through Marjan Hill

[edit] References