Šibenik

Šibenik
—  Town  —
Šibenik harbor and town center

Flag

Seal
Šibenik
Location of Šibenik within Croatia
Coordinates:
Country Croatia
County Šibenik–Knin County
Government
 • Mayor Dr. Ante Županović
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 46,372
  34,242 in the city itself
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 22000
Website http://www.sibenik.hr/

Šibenik (Croatian pronunciation: [ʃîbe̞niːk]) is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 (2001). It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin county.

Contents

Name

In Croatian, the town is known as Šibenik, in Latin as Sebenicum, in Italian as Sebenico, in Hungarian as Sibenik, and in German as Sibennig.

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 30 °C (86 °F).

History

Early history

Unlike other cities along the Adriatic coast, which were established by Greeks, Illyrians and Romans, Šibenik was founded by Croats.[2] Excavations of the castle of Saint Michael, have since proven that the place was inhabited long before the actual arrival of the Croats. It was mentioned for the first time under its present name in 1066 in a Charter of the Croatian King Petar Krešimir IV[2] and, for a period of time, it was a seat of this Croatian King. For that reason, Šibenik is also called "Krešimirov grad" (Krešimir's city). It is the oldest native Croatian town on the eastern shores of the Adriatic.

Between the 11th and 12th centuries, Šibenik was tossed back and forth among Venice, Byzantium, Hungary and the Kingdom of Bosnia. It was conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1116,[3] who held it until 1124, when they briefly lost it to the Byzantine Empire,[4] and then held it again until 1133 when it was retaken by the Kingdom of Hungary.[5] It would change hands amongst the aforementioned states several more times until 1180.

The city was given the status of a town in 1167 from Stephen III of Hungary.[6] It received its own diocese in 1298.[2]

The city, like the rest of Dalmatia, resisted the Venetians in a three-year war that was resolved in their favor in 1412.[2] The Ottoman Empire started to threaten Šibenik, as part of their struggle against Venice, at the end of the 15th century,[3] 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 (Tanaja) and Šubićevac (Barone).

The fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797 brought Šibenik under the authority of the Habsburg Monarchy.[3]

20th century

After World War I, Šibenik was occupied by the Kingdom of Italy until 12 June 1921. 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. During World War II it was occupied by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Over the course of Allied bombing of the city, the Church of Sveti Nikola (Saint Nicholas) in the Mandalina settlement was destroyed.[7] After WWII it became a part of the SFR Yugoslavia until Croatia declared independence in 1991.

During the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995), Šibenik was heavily attacked by the Yugoslav National Army and Serbian paramilitary troops.[3] Although under-armed, the nascent Croatian army and the people of Šibenik managed to defend the city. The battle lasted for six days (16–22 September), often referred to as the "September battle". The bombings damaged numerous buildings and monuments, including the dome of the Cathedral of St. James and the 1870-built theatre building.

In an August 1995 military operation, Croatian Army defeated the Serb forces and freed the occupied areas,[3] which created the basic conditions for its post-war recovery and allowed the region to continue to develop as the centre of Šibenik-Knin county. Architecturally, the damaged parts of the city have been fully reconstructed.

Main sights

The central church in Šibenik, the Cathedral of St. James, is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Several successive architects built it completely in stone between 1431 and 1536,[2] both in Gothic and in Renaissance style. The interlocking stone slabs of the Cathedral's roof were damaged when the city was shelled by Serbian forces in 1991. The damage has since been repaired.

Fortifications in Šibenik

In the town of Šibenik there are four fortresses:

Natural heritage

Culture and events

The annual Šibenik International Children's Festival (Međunarodni Dječji Festival) takes place every summer.

The composer Jakov Gotovac founded the city's "Philharmonia Society" in 1922. The composer Franz von Suppé was part of the city's cultural fabric, as he was a native of nearby Split.

Population

Šibenik's total city population is 46,372, with 34,242 in the city itself (census 2011 first results).[1] In the 2011 census, 94.02% of its citizens were Croats.

The list of settlements is as follows:[1]

  • Boraja, population 249
  • Brnjica, population 72
  • Brodarica, population 2.509
  • Čvrljevo, population 64
  • Danilo, population 372
  • Danilo Biranj, population 435
  • Danilo Kraljice, population 102
  • Donje Polje, population 265
  • Dubrava kod Šibenika, population 1.179
  • Goriš, population 143
  • Gradina, population 303
  • Grebaštica, population 940
  • Jadrtovac, population 170
  • Kaprije, population 164
  • Konjevrate, population 166
  • Krapanj, population 170
  • Lepenica, population 67
  • Lozovac, population 366
  • Mravnica, population 78
  • Perković, population 110
  • Podine, population 26
  • Radonić, population 79
  • Raslina, population 570
  • Sitno Donje, population 562
  • Slivno, population 109
  • Šibenik, population 34.242
  • Vrpolje, population 772
  • Vrsno, population 68
  • Zaton, population 977
  • Zlarin, population 278
  • Žaborić, population 465
  • Žirje, population 94

Utilities

The town of Šibenik was the first city in the world to receive a polyphase system of alternating current. The system supplied 340 street lights and some electrified houses in the town.

International relations

Šibenik is twinned with:

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011, First Results by Settlements" (in Croatian and English) (HTML). Statistical Reports (Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics) (1441). June 2011. ISSN 1332-0297. http://www.dzs.hr/Eng/censuses/census2011/htm/E11_Zup34_4448.html. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c d e Foster, Jane (2004). Footprint Croatia, Footprint Handbooks, 2nd ed. p. 218. ISBN 1903471796
  3. ^ a b c d e Oliver, Jeanne (2007). Croatia. Lonely Planet 4th ed. p. 182. ISBN 1741044758
  4. ^ Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (1843). The Penny cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. 26. Great Britain: C. Knight. p. 236. http://books.google.com/books?id=GBrnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA236. Retrieved 28 March 2011. 
  5. ^ Giuseppe Praga, Franco Luxardo (1993). History of Dalmatia. Giardini. p. 91. http://books.google.com/books?id=fWZpAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 28 March 2011. 
  6. ^ Robert Lambert Playfair (1881). Handbook to the Mediterranean. John Murray. p. 310. http://books.google.com/books?id=M_4HAAAAQAAJ. Retrieved 28 March 2011. 
  7. ^ Mandalina: crkva s vidikovcem, Slobodna Dalmacija
  8. ^ Skračiċ, Vladimir (2003). Kornat Islands. Zadar: Forum. ISBN 953-179-600-9. 
  9. ^ "Civitanova Marche — Twin Towns". Civitanova Marche. http://www.comune.civitanova.mc.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=685&Itemid=238. Retrieved 4 December 2008. 

External links

Media related to Šibenik at Wikimedia Commons