Croatian Short Stories - The Town of Sibenik

---

Only 15 km from Vodice lies the town of Sibenik. A regional commercial center today the city has a 900 yrs old history. Best travel to Sibenik from Vodice with the Jadrolinija ship, a small passenger boat (unlike its big brother ferryboats we used to go to Brac). It takes a while (about 90 minutes), as Jadrolinija stops on the islands of Prvic and Zlarin connecting these islands with the mainland.

Unlike other cities along the Adriatic coast, which were established by Greeks, Illyrians and Romans, Sibenik was founded by Croats. It was mentioned for the first time under its present name in 1066 and for a period of time, it was a seat of this Croatian King Kresimir. For that reason, Sibenik is also called "Krešimirov grad" (Krešimir's city). Between the 11th and 12th centuries, Sibenik was tossed back and forth among Venice, Byzantium, and Hungary. In the 14th century, Serbs were present in the hinterland of Sibenik around Knin. These Serbs fled the Ottoman advance and were received and resettled by the Habsburgs under the condition that they build a line of defense and fight the Turks. They remained a very fiercely Serb-nationalistic group (called Chetniks) over the centuries. This group played in 1991 a critical role fighting against the establishment of Croatia alongside Milosevic's Serbs. During World War I, the Austro-Hungarian navy used the port facilities. It was part of the kingdom and subsequently Communist Yugoslavia and is today part of Croatia.

In the city of Sibenik there are four fortresses, each of which has views of the city, sea and nearby islands, reminding us of its strategic position and need to fend off enemies. The fortresses are now tourist sightseeing destinations. Especially St. Nicholas Fortress located on an island at the entrance to the St. Anthony Channel (Sibenik channel) and declared an UNESCO's World Heritage Site. Having been Croatian and Venetian influenced most of its 900 years history, the Catholic Church influence, in addition to the military aspect is significant. Especially the Cathedral of St. James build between 1430 and 1530 ! is a wonderful example of Renaissance architecture and Vatican might. A stroll through the old city and its Riva in summer is a wonderful flash back in time.

Needless to say that Nui and Nenad given the proximity of Sibenik to Vodice travelled there on numerous occasions during summer and autumn weeks they spent in Dalmatia. It was quite fascinating to see how this city, quite lively in August, went step by step into a sleeping beauty slumber towards the end of September. We enjoyed strolling through the empty historic marble clad alleys. Our preferred lunch place was Saint Antonio, who's quite creative and unconventional owner we connected well with. His name is of course Antonio. Unfortunately all the cultural festivals Sibenik is famous for, were cancelled this year, surprise surprise... So all we could do is sing among the empty historic walls ourselves. The acoustics are really good... Sports, especially basketball, is very popular in Sibenik. Its most famous son comes also from this domain, Dražen Petrović. A flamboyant star on multiple stages, Petrovic earned two silver medals and one bronze in Olympic basketball, a gold and a bronze in the FIBA World Cup, a gold and a bronze in the FIBA EuroBasket, and two EuroLeague titles. He represented Yugoslavia's national team and, later, Croatia's national team. He earned four Euroscars, and was named Mr. Europa twice. In 1985, he received the Golden Badge award for best athlete of Yugoslavia. Seeking a bigger arena after his career start in Europe, Petrović joined the NBA in 1989, as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, being one of the first Europeans to do so. His breakthrough came with the New Jersey Nets. While starting for the Nets, he became one of the NBA league's best shooting guards. Petrović's career and life were cut short after he died in a car accident at the age of only 28 ! He received the Olympic Order in 1993.

---

Photos

on the Jadrolinija
from Vodice to Sibenik

St Nicholas Fortress
best view is from above