Location: Dalmatia Map
Šibenik is a city in Croatia. It is located in the central area of Dalmatia, in modern Croatia, next to the mouth of the Krka river on the Adriatic coast. It has a population of 51 553 inhabitants (2001); Šibenik is the political, educational, transportation, industrial and tourist center of the region called Šibenik-Knin. The predominant ethnic group is Croatian, which constitutes 94% of the population (2001 census). In Sibenik there are 2 national parks: Krka and Kornati. Sibenik is a coastal Croatian town in northern Dalmatia region of Croatia. Sibenik is most famous for its Cathedral of Saint James as well as other notable churches and military fortifications from different time periods.
Etymology
There are several interpretations of
the origin of the name Šibenik, but none is accepted as completely
certain and accurate. In one of his works, Juraj Šižgorić says that
the city was named so because it was surrounded by bushes. Other
researchers, Venetian and local, think similarly and believe that
the original Šibenik was a place surrounded by bushes, made of it
and fenced. Another interpretation connects the name of the city
with the forest through the toponym "Sibinicum", which covered the
narrower micro-region of Šibenik. Modern historians state that it is
characteristic that some other heads and tops of hills are called
Šibenik, and several settlements on the hills have a bush at the
root, so it is considered to be an Old Slavic word for hills. Some
associate it with the Czech word šibenice, which means gallows and
execution site, so it is assumed that in the old language the word
could have had the same meaning and denote a hill where convicts
were brought to flogging and execution. There are also more poetic
explanations, such as that "Šibenik is constantly whipped by wind
and sea".
Around the Cathedral of St. James
Cathedral of Saint James
(Katedrala Sv. Jakova). summer 8:30-20:00, the rest of the time
8:30-12:00, 16:00-20:00; masses: 9:30, 11:00, 18:00. 15 kunas A unique
white-stone Catholic cathedral of the 15th century, a joint masterpiece
of two of the most famous Croatian medieval architects and sculptors -
Juraj Dalmatinets and Nikolai Fiorentinets. The lower part of the
cathedral was built in the Venetian Gothic style, the upper part - the
Tuscan Renaissance. The uniqueness of the cathedral is that it was
created entirely of stone, without the use of wood or iron. In 2000, the
cathedral was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. Next
to the cathedral is a statue of Juraj the Dalmatian (sculptor I.
Meštrovic).
The construction of the cathedral began in 1431 and
lasted more than 100 years - plague, fire and simply lack of money
interfered. In the first 10 years, the first tier was built in the
Gothic style with a strong influence of Venetian architecture. In 1441,
the City Council of the city entrusted further work on the cathedral to
the famous architect and sculptor Juraj Dalmatians (1400-1473). The
cathedral became his most significant work. Especially for the
construction of this cathedral, the Dalmatian invented a special method
of laying stone slabs, which allowed him to build the naves and apses of
the cathedral entirely of stone, without a single brick or wooden beam.
The Dalmatian worked on the construction of the cathedral until his
death in 1473, not having time to erect the roof and dome of the temple.
The work of the Dalmatian was continued by Nikola Fiorentinac (1430s
- 1505). He became famous for his work on the sculptural decoration of
the Ursini Chapel in Trogir and the tombstone of the Chipico family in
the church of St. John the Baptist in Trogir. Under his leadership, the
side galleries, the roof and the upper part of the facade were erected
in the style of the Tuscan Renaissance. But his main contribution to the
construction was the erection of a powerful octagonal dome of the
cathedral entirely of stone using the same technique that was used by
his predecessor in the construction of naves and apses. But Fiorentinac
also did not live to see the completion of construction. After his death
in 1505, construction was completed under the direction of Bartolomeo of
Mestra and his son, who completed the construction according to the
drawings of Fiorentinac. In 1536, construction was completed, and in
1555 the cathedral was consecrated as the cathedral of the diocese of
Sibenik.
The altar part of the cathedral ends with three apses
and a rectangular sacristy and is girded on the outside with a ribbon
with 74 heads carved from stone, created by Yuri Dalmatian, depicting
his contemporaries (the legend says that these are the townspeople who
refused to give money for the construction of the cathedral). The
northern wall of the cathedral is divided by columns and decorated with
Gothic windows. The portal of the northern facade is decorated with
images of Adam and Eve, St. Peter and St. James. Nikola Fiorentinac
created sculptures of St. Michael, St. Jacob and St. Mark on the
pediments and crowned the dome with a gilded figure of an angel.
Notable is the late Gothic baptistery of the cathedral, located in the
south apse. This is a small, round room with niches located between the
columns. On top of the columns are statues of Old Testament prophets.
The ceiling of the baptistery is decorated with images of God the
Father, angels and cherubs. In the center of the baptistery is a
baptismal font, the basis for which are the figures of boys.
2 The building of the town hall (Gradska vijećnica). Renaissance
style double loggia (1534-1542) with beautiful arcades on the first
floor and a stone balustrade with a balcony in the middle on the second
floor.
3 Rossini Palace (Palača Rossini).
4 Archbishop's Palace
(Biskupska palača). Located next to the Cathedral of St. Jacob. Middle
of the 15th century.
5 The Prince's Palace (Kneževa palača). The
residence of the governor of Venice (XIII-XIV century), from which only
two buildings remain. Today it houses the city museum.
6 Church of St. Barbara
(Crkva Sv. Barbare). Gothic church of the middle of the 15th century.
Now it houses a permanent exhibition of medieval church art.
7 Church
of All Saints (Crkva Svih Svetih).
8 Four wells (Četiri bunara).
City cistern.
9 Church of St. John the Baptist (Crkva Sv. Ivana). Gothic church
of the 15th century with Renaissance elements. On the south side, a
staircase with a balustrade was added to the church by the famous
Nikola the Firentine, who also sculpted the statue of St. John the
Baptist, located inside the church. The first public mechanical
clock in Šibenik was built into the western wall of the church's
bell tower in 1648.
10 Church of St. Nikola
or Church of St. Nicholas (Crkva Sv. Nikole).
11 New Church (Nova
crkva). Renaissance church of the 16th century, interior frescoes by
local craftsmen, 17th century.
12 Church of the Holy Cross
(Crkva Sv. Križa).
13th Church of the Assumption of Our Lady
(Crkva Uspenie Bogomatere). XVII-XVIII century. The bell tower with
two beautiful balconies is built right into the facade. Inside you
will find a collection of church utensils and icons.
14 Church of St. Spirit
or Church of the Holy Spirit (Crkva Sv. Duha).
15 Church of St.
Chrysogon (Crkva Sv. Krševana). Romanesque church of the 12th
century. Today it houses the art gallery of St. Chrysogon. Near the
church, on a low pedestal, there is the oldest bell in Croatia
(1266), which was found under water near the Silba sostrov.
16 Church of St. Grgura (Crkva Sv. Grgura).
17 Church of Our
Lady of the City (Crkva gospe van Grada (Porođenja Blažene Djevice
Marije)). It was built on the site where in the Middle Ages there
was a cemetery with the church of St. Cosmas and Damian (1452).
18 Monastery and Church of St. Lawrence (Samostan i crkva Sv.
Lovre). The church was built in the Baroque style (17th century).
19 Benedictine Monastery and Church of St. Lucy (Benediktinski
samostan i crkva Sv. Luce).
20 Franciscan monastery. (Crkva i
samostan sv. Frane). Gothic church of St. Francis was built in the
14th century. Within the walls of the ancient monastery is now a
museum of medieval publications.
21 Monastery and Church of St.
Dominica (Samostan i crkva Sv. Dominika).
22 Old Benedictine
monastery (Stari benediktinski samostan i crkva sv. Katarine
(Kvartir)).
Benedictine monastery of St. Luce
23 Foscolo Castle (Foscolo Palace).
24 Dvorec Divnić (Palača
Divnić).
25 Dvorec Pelegrini – Tambača (Palace Pelegrini – Tambača).
26 House of Yury Dalmatian (House of Orsini).
27 Kožul Castle (Kožul
Palace (Gothic Palace))
Croatian National Shrine of St. Nikola Tavelić
Not much is known about the oldest history of Šibenik. It is assumed that it was founded in the time of Prince Domagoj in IX. At first it developed as a fortress (castrum) with an older suburb (suburbium) in the area of Dolac and a younger one on the east side of the castle, where in the XII. century built the church of St. Krševana, around which the core of the medieval town later developed. Šibenik belonged to the group of so-called Croatian cities, and emerged on a hill 70 m above sea level on the site of today's fortress of St. Michael first mentioned 998. Sibeniquo is mentioned 25.12.1066. in the grant of King Petar Krešimir IV, who was in Šibenik at the time and advised on state affairs, which is why Šibenik is often called Krešimir's city. We find a few more mentions of Šibenik from the time of the people's rulers. The Supetar cartulary contains records of the first known inhabitant of Šibenik, Vsemir Šibenčanin, and of his sale of Rakonja goods, as well as a record confirming that King Zvonimir ruled in Šibenik in 1078. There is also a document confirming that in 1089 King Stephen II held a meeting of the nobility, clergy and people in the field near the Šibenik castrum. After the battle of Petrova gora in 1097 and the death of the Croatian ruler Petar, Šibenik in 1107. recognized the rule of the Croatian-Hungarian King Koloman. In 1116 it was captured by the Venetians and destroyed "to the ground". Around 1124, it returned under Croatian-Hungarian rule, and after the Venetians razed Biograd na Moru the following year, it received refugees from that city and its population increased sharply. The city was founded in 1167. gained autonomy, and has since freely chosen a prince and a judge. From 1168 to 1180 the city was in Byzantine hands. From the end of XII. century he recognized the rule of Croatian princes, first Prince Domald (1200-26), and then the princes of Bribir (until 1322). During the reign of the latter, after a century-long fierce struggle with the Trogir diocese, Šibenik became the episcopal seat in 1298 and acquired a civit. As he lagged behind economically due to large levies and obligations, a rebellion broke out against Mladen II Bribirski with the support of the Venetian Republic. Although formally from 1322 to 1357 it was under the Croatian-Hungarian king, Venice had power through its princes. During that time, the city expanded its territory to Žirje and Murter. After the defeat of the Venetians in the war with Louis I of Anjou in 1358, the city came under Anjouan rule. From 1378 to 1381, our coastal cities were also involved in the war between Genoa and Venice, so on October 28, 1878. Šibenik was badly damaged in the Venetian attack when, after the heroic resistance of the citizens, almost the entire city was destroyed and set on fire, and all the inhabitants who did not escape by fleeing to the fortress were killed. From 1390, he recognized the rule of the Bosnian king Tvrtko I. Kotromanić, at the beginning of the XV. century of the Bosnian duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić and king Ladislav of Naples.
In 1409, Ladislav of Naples sold Šibenik, as well as the whole of Dalmatia, to the Venetians for 100,000 ducats. As soon as the people of Šibenik heard about the sale of Dalmatia, they began preparations for the defense by renovating the city walls. In the same year, the Venetians arrived in front of Šibenik and demanded surrender. The city refused the ultimatum and resisted the Venetian attacks for 3 years, so the Venetians encamped on the Mandalina peninsula. In the meantime, a conflict took place within the city between the commoners and the proletarian nobles who were expelled from the city. They occupied the towers at the entrance to the harbor, between which a chain was stretched to prevent the entry of Venetian ships, and they crossed over to their side. They were also financially rewarded by the Venetians for this betrayal. In 1412, the people's captains took full power. But King Sigismund, who was also at war with Venice, then sent his vicar to execute the people's captains and return the nobility to power. After that, the popular side, which until then had been with the Austro-Hungarian king, lost the will for further war, and on October 30, 1412, exhausted by siege, famine and disease, the city ceased resistance and recognized the rule of Venice for the next 4 centuries. . King Sigismund renounced Dalmatia with an agreement from 1433, and in 1463, after the Turks conquered Bosnia and began to invade and devastate the immediate vicinity of Šibenik, all hopes of returning to the Croatian-Hungarian crown disappeared. Venice narrows communal autonomy and prevents the free economic development of Šibenik. The most important person in the political life of the city, the prince, was no longer elected by the Grand Council but had to be a Venetian nobleman elected by Venice. All imports and exports had to take place via Venice and be transported by Venetian ships, and the salt trade, which was crucial for Šibenik, was placed under strict control. In addition, the Šibenik commune was attacked by Prince Ivaniš Nelipić of Cetinje until 1434, Croatian Ban Petar Talovac and his successors, and in 1496 detachments of Ivaniš Korvin and Prince Bernardin Frankopan. The Turks first appeared on the territory of Šibenik in 1414, plundered Srima in 1432 and inflicted the greatest damage on it in 1468. Juraj Šižgorić sang an elegy about the biggest Turkish massacre so far. In one of its reports, the Venetian providur estimates that in the second half of the 15th century, 70,000 people were taken into slavery from the Šibenik area. So then the settlement of small islands along the coast of Šibenik began, and the following were created: Krapanj, Primošten, Tribunj ... From 1499 to 1502, in the new war between Venice and the Ottomans, the district of Šibenik was devastated again. After the fall of the towns in the hinterland, Knin and Skradin, under Ottoman rule in 1522, frequent Ottoman invasions and devastation began. After that, the Ottoman companies rushed to the city walls and their ships in 1523 demanded passage to Skradin, which the Venetian Council allowed, but the people of Šibenik refused. New Turkish attacks on the city began with the war that lasted 1537-1540, the Turks attacked the salt pans in Zablaće, and the Venetians demolished the mills on the Krka and everything outside the city walls in order not to serve the invaders.
Then followed a period of 30 years of peace in which the city
rose economically and became the most populous city in Dalmatia,
although its district was drastically reduced from 300 to 15
inhabited villages and occupied 25 miles wide and only 2 to 5 miles
wide, i.e. only narrow coastal belt. The city benefited the most
from trade with its hinterland. The Morlacs brought meat, cheese,
grain and wool and brought wine, oil, dried fish and fine goods from
Šibenik. But the most important was the production and sale of salt
in Šibenik salt pans, which became the basis for the development of
intensive trade with the hinterland. The Venetian union records that
600 Zagorje people could come to the city at once to buy salt, and
that this trade brought the city a profit of 50,000 ducats a year.
The same Venetian trade union reports that during the 150 years of
Venetian rule in Šibenik, its ethnic character has not changed: "the
clothes, speech and behavior of these Šibenik citizens are all
Croatian. Croatian and almost no one can speak Italian ". It can
also be learned that despite the imminent Turkish danger of the
Venetian state army there were less than 100 men but that there were
1210 citizens ready for arms.
Work on the Šibenik Cathedral
began in 1431, ten years later the construction was taken over by
master Juraj Dalmatinac and in 1477 the construction was continued
by his student Nikola Firentinac. The works were not completed until
1536. In the meantime (1447-53), a huge public cistern with a
capacity of 1900 m3 was built "Four Wells". After finishing the
cathedral, the people of Šibenik erected a beautiful public building
opposite it - the City Hall, built from 1533 to 1546. In order to
better defend themselves from the sea, at the entrance to the canal,
the fortress of St. Nicholas (1540–47). The construction of the
cathedral turned Šibenik into the center of construction activity in
the whole of Dalmatia, Juraj Dalmatinac created a construction
school, so the city became a meeting place for many domestic and
foreign masters. Before that, the city still consisted largely of
wooden houses, but then in 1485 the Grand Council passed a decision
encouraging the construction of stone houses and regulating
urbanism, which made great progress and built many palaces.
Popular movements against the nobles in Šibenik can be traced back
to 1358 when the nobles were expelled from the city and a "council
of citizens and regiments" was formed which lasted until 1359. But
the peak of many conflicts occurred in the period 1510-1512. when
the nobles were again expelled from the city and when the commoners
in 1511 sent a delegation to the doge with demands that would
resolve their socio-political demands. The doge repulsed them and
bloodily ended the revolt in 1512 when the leaders of the regiment
were hanged. Another bloody revolt took place in 1589, when the
rebels demanded that the prince release the imprisoned peasants.
The Turkish-Venetian Cypriot War lasted from 1570 to 1573, and
as early as 1569, Turkish troops attacked Šibenik, which was
defended by women until the men who were then out of town arrived.
In this war, Zablaće and salt pans were destroyed, fierce battles
were fought around Vrpoljec, Rogoznica, Donje polje, Zlosel, Zaton
and Vodice. In the summer of 1572, 12 Turkish ships ravaged Žirje
and carried out a massacre. Venetian forces burned Skradin in a
counterattack. Fearing that the poorly fortified towers at the
entrance from the city side to the canal would fall into the hands
of the Turks, they were demolished to their foundations and the
defense on the sea side was entrusted to the fortress of St. Nikola,
which was built at the open entrance to the canal. The Šibenik
galley "St. Juraj" also took part in the naval battle near Lepanto.
The first Šibenik statute was written around 1260, but this
document failed during the Venetian burning of the city in 1378. In
1608, Šibenik printed its statute, which began to be created in
1379, when the oldest reformation began.
Before the Candian War in 1646, the rapid construction of the
fortress of St. Ivana and Šubićevac in order to defend the city from
Turkish attacks from the mainland. The Turks arrived in the siege in
October of the same year and the battles lasted for a month, in
which the new fortress of St. Ivan from which the artillery fired at
the military positions of the Turks. The biggest and most dangerous
attack of the Turks on Šibenik happened in 1647, when Hussein-pasha
Takelija set out across Drniš with 23,000 men to conquer the city.
The city was defended by Baron Christoph Martin Degenefeld who had
5,000 men ready for defense. 8/17/1647 The Turks arrived in
Konjevrate and went on patrols and concluded that it was necessary
to conquer the surrounding fortresses in order to conquer Šibenik.
The Turkish pasha failed to occupy the southeastern shore of the
canal thanks to the strong cannon fire of the fortress of St. Nikola
but managed to conquer part of the fortress of St. Ivana called
"tanaja" i.e. pliers. 8.9. at 9 o'clock in the evening the Turks
launched a decisive attack from tanaje on st. Ivan, but after the
most terrible night in the history of Šibenik, the defenders managed
to defend the fortress. The battles lasted a few more days but on
11.9. Venetian warships with new military reinforcements sailed into
the port, so after a month of bloody fighting on September 16, 1647.
Pasha Tekelija and his remaining army withdrew.
In 1553, it
was recorded that Šibenik had 8200 inhabitants and on its territory
from Rogoznica to Zlosel another 8000 inhabitants, which made it the
most populous city in Dalmatia at that time. But the exhausting wars
and even the 18th plague epidemic through the XV. and the sixteenth
century ravaged the city. In 1649, the largest plague epidemic
appeared, which killed over 10,000 inhabitants of the city and its
surroundings, and in the city itself three quarters of the
population, leaving it at only 1,500 inhabitants, after which it
took two centuries to recover.
The second half of the 17th
century is extremely gloomy for Šibenik and its surroundings. The
salt pans were destroyed, the experts who led them disappeared in
wars and epidemics, and there was not enough manpower, which meant
that there was no more trade with the hinterland, which was taken
over by Split. The newly arrived population had a hard time getting
used to city life, and out of 150 noble families before the plague,
only 10 remained in the city. It was only visited by the Turks in
1654 and the remaining population from the surrounding area was
taken into slavery. 1659 15,000 Turks attack the city walls again
and destroy the suburbs of Crnica. In addition, in 1663, Šibenik
suffered another accident when lightning struck the castle of St.
Mihovil, penetrated the ammunition magazine, after which the western
part of the fort flew into the air together with the wooden church
of St. Mihovila after which the fortress was named until then. The
stones, which flew in all directions, fell on the houses at the foot
of the fortress and did a lot of damage. The Turks attacked it once
again in 1664 in large numbers but the well-groomed system of
fortresses and their artillery was ready. After 25 years of the
Candian war, the demarcation with the Turks in the hinterland of
Šibenik remained almost the same, except that Skradin belonged to
him, so it was possible to start rebuilding the mills on the Krka.
The Seventh Turkish-Venetian War (1684-1699) did not devastate the
Šibenik region as it had before, in this war the people of Šibenik
mostly fought on the border with the Turks and as rowers in Venetian
galleys. And after the conquest of Knin in 1688. the 250-year danger
from the Turks to Šibenik finally ceased.
After the peace in
Požarevac in 1718. and the withdrawal of the border by the Mocenigo
line in 1723, which moved along the Dinara and has remained to this
day, began a period of peace that lasted until the fall of the
Republic in 1797. But unfortunately in that period there was
stagnation and even setback. The city walls no longer had a purpose,
so the importance of the city was lost. Venice treated Dalmatia as a
colony and did not invest in it anymore. In Šibenik, almost all the
people in the detachment were Vlachs (Italian: Morlaki), as they
were called, all who came from Zagora, regardless of ethnicity, and
who were accustomed to a heroic life in numerous wars. The city with
its suburbs where these new people live has 4000 people and
throughout the XVIII century it does not go beyond that. Many houses
inside the city remain neglected and decay because newcomers do not
want to respect the city statutes and they need space for livestock
and a garden, so they settle outside the city walls. In this small
provincial environment that only lives, a special Dalmatian
mentality is created, that of small towns, known as campanilism.
With the collapse of the Venetian state, Šibenik has been under Austrian rule since 1797. This was preceded by popular unrest led by the pro-Austrian clergy, which was in fear of secularists and the bourgeois revolution brought with it by the French occupation of the Venetian Republic, so they saw enemies in all previous Venetian officials. In these riots in Šibenik, the whole family of the honorary French consul paid with their heads and most of the other nobles fled to the neighboring islands. At the beginning of 1806, the French army entered the city and Šibenik became part of the French Empire, and from 1810 the autonomous Illyrian province, when after many centuries "Illyrian" briefly became the official language. At the beginning of the century, the construction of the road to Knin via Konjevrat and Drniš began, which was completed in 1802, and after the arrival of the French, the road network to Split and Zadar was improved. The French providors were appalled by the backwardness of Venetian Dalmatia, so they tried to modernize agriculture in it, establish a school system, build the first hospital, orphanage, implement anti-epidemiological protection of the population and modernize the administration and judiciary. After Napoleon '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 was the rest of the Kingdom of Dalmatia. The beginning of the second part of the Austrian absolutist rule represents a period of stagnation in all fields of life. Austria raises strong border control towards Bosnia and defends caravan trade, maritime trade also declines due to the loss of sailing ships and due to Austria's lack of maritime strategy, due to the check Šibenik is stagnant again. In 1839, the first signs of national awakening of the Illyrian movement appeared, by two Serbs from Šibenik, Božidar Petranović and Špiro Popović, who created a joint Croatian-Serbian front against the Italianization of Dalmatia. They were visited twice in 1941 by Gaj and Mažuranić. At the same time, the autonomous and Italian current was even stronger and more widespread among educated citizens, seeing its idol in Nikola Tommase from Šibenik, who also became a minister in the government of the briefly renewed Venetian Republic. Only 1848/49. The political activity of Šibenik under Austrian rule became more pronounced in the year 2000, when the people's municipal representation was briefly elected after the overwhelming victory over the autonomists. The town was strengthened by the Croatian national revival, so in 1851 it was visited by Ban Jelačić, in whom the people hoped to unite Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia, so the town gave him a welcome bigger than it was when Emperor Francis visited it in 1818. but on the eve of Bach's absolutism, Jelačić did not mention unification in a single speech. During the dictatorship, all political life died out for a whole decade and all Slavic ideas were banned, which enabled the re-strengthening of the autonomists who won the first subsequent elections in 1865. A particularly significant event for the further development of folk resale took place in 1866. when the National Slavic 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 came in the elections for the Dalmatian Parliament in 1870. when in Šibenik and its surroundings the People's Party wins the overwhelming victory. In 1872, the Narodniks 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 had been the largest peasant town on the Adriatic. During his tenure, the Croatian language was introduced into the municipal administration as the official language, in 1877 Šibenik was connected to the Siverić-Split railway, in 1879 a water supply system was installed, in 1883 a large and modern hospital was built and in 1896 the court palace was completed. His company built the first Krka hydroelectric power plant on the Krka River in 1895, making Šibenik the third city in the world to receive AC public lighting. In 1904, his company built a new hydroelectric power plant Jaruga II, which still operates today. Of particular importance for the development of the city was the beginning of the Calcium Carbide Factory "SUFID" in 1903. Already in 1903, the "Alliance among Workers" was founded in Šibenik, which organized the first strike for Labor Day in 1905 due to the working day that lasted 10 and more hours. In 1907, Šibenik was the third port of Austro-Hungary after Trieste and Rijeka. That year, the first newspapers appeared in Šibenik - Hrvatska Rieč, the newspaper of the Party of Rights, in 1908 the first workers' newspaper "Glas Mali Puka" and in 1912 "Crveni barjak" the newspaper of the Social Democratic Party in Dalmatia. Political life was very turbulent at the beginning of the century, initially it was a struggle between the populists and the rightists, who after the people's movement in 1903 united in the Croatian Party to work together on South Slavic unification. At that time, progressives appeared who spread Masaryk's advanced democratic ideas and pan-Slavism, and in 1899 they founded the Croatian Musical Society "Kolo", which still operates today. As much as the views of right-wingers and progressives differed on some national issues, especially on the unity of the Serbian and Croatian people, the introduction of the dictatorship of the commissariat in 1912 and the beginning of the Balkan wars completely united all parties in anti-Austrian sentiment.
At the beginning of World War I, the Austrian
authorities introduced a strict military regime. Most
Yugoslav-oriented politicians ended up in prisons and newspapers
were banned. Many people from Šibenik go to the front as part of the
23rd Šibenik Dalmatian Home Guard Regiment. First, they fought on
the front towards Serbia and Montenegro, where they died en masse on
the mountain Zajčica and Milenko's stone on the Drina. They are
breaking into the interior of Serbia, all the way to Uzice and
Sabac. As more and more defections to the Serbian army were
recorded, and since "Dalmatians are reluctant to fight against the
people of their language", they were transferred in the middle of
1915 to the Italian front, where they were more motivated. On the
Soča battlefield, the Sibenik 23rd repulsed the Italian offensives
on Podgora with huge losses. As early as 1917, demonstrations of
sailors were recorded in the war ports of Austro-Hungary, as was the
case in the port of Šibenik on 4.10. sailors' revolt against torpedo
officer no. 11, after mastering the torpedo boat, they fled with her
to Italy. After the disintegration of Austro-Hungary and the
founding of the still unrecognized State of Slovenes, Croats and
Serbs, the Italians set out to occupy the eastern Adriatic coast,
which was to belong to it under a secret London agreement. Šibenik
was occupied on November 6, 1918. when four warships sailed into
port. The People's Council of the city protests against the landing
of the Italian army and decides to recognize only the People's
Council of SHS in Zagreb and the Provincial Government of Dalmatia
in Split. About 400 carabinieri and Italian sailors on November 20,
1918. he surrounded the seat of the National Council and forcibly
expelled them. In January 1919, a plebiscite was successfully held
when out of 24,475 inhabitants, as many as 23,675 voted against the
Italian occupation and signed that they wanted the Šibenik area to
unite with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. On the basis
of the Treaty of Rapallo, the Italians left Šibenik, and on June 13,
1921, the people of Šibenik welcomed the Yugoslav army at a large
ceremony in Poljana. Then, after a full five centuries of foreign
rule in Šibenik, a national administration was established.
Šibenik was having a hard time recovering after the war, given two and a half years of Italian occupation. In the meantime, the functions of the most important economic, traffic and administrative center for Dalmatia from Zadar, which remains an Italian enclave, were taken over by Split, which then developed rapidly and even took over the function of an important export port from Šibenik. The Lika railway was finally completed in 1925, 52 years after the decision to build was made, giving Šibenik and Dalmatia a quick connection with the rest of Croatia. This gave impetus to the works on the expansion of the port of Šibenik, which were completed in 1928, making it the second port of Yugoslavia in terms of operational area. The global economic crisis of the 1930s hit most of the laid-off workers from the La Dalmatienne factory in Crnica hardest, which halted production at the end of 1931 and at the same time starved farmers in the hinterland after the harvest aborted up to 70%. From 1921 to 1932, 10 municipal administrations and mayors changed in the city government, which further contributed to the crisis. The most important politician from the period after the crisis became Marko Kožul, who from 1935 to 1937 was the Minister of Construction in the government of Milan Stojadinović. Thanks to him, many roads were renovated and regulated, and the most important legacy is the construction of the "State Real Gymnasium of the Knight King Alexander and the Unificator" and the Customs House on the territory of Yugoslavia. Before that, for a full forty years, all the bauxite from the mine in Siveric was exported as unprocessed raw material, and then the potential of the hydroelectric power plant on the Krka above which it was built was finally used.
Italian occupation
During the Second World War, Šibenik changed its administration several times and suffered greatly. Already in the morning of April 6, 1941. a squadron of Italian planes that took off from Zadar airport bombed Šibenik. This was followed by several consecutive bombings of ships anchored in the port. After the founding of the Independent State of Croatia on April 10, 1941. the Ustashas, despite the opposition of the deputies, set out to seize power and disarm the Yugoslav army and navy, which had a strong foothold in the city but were in total disarray after the invasion of the Axis Powers. But four days later the first Italian divisions entered the city and on April 15, 1941 it was occupied when the Italian command was established, which took over military and civilian power, replaced all flags and symbols with Italian ones and disarmed the Ustashas and "rushed" them by signing the Treaties of Rome on May 18. 1941 Šibenik was officially annexed by the Kingdom of Italy and became part of the Governorate of Dalmatia. After the establishment of the Italian fascist government, many measures were taken to denationalize and Italianize Šibenik to such an extent that they also Italianized personal names to the citizens. There was resistance and an anti-fascist movement in the town and surrounding villages. High school students protest and burn books, smash shop windows with Duce's paintings or throw ink at them for checks, some end up on the gallows and entire classes (female Teachers) are interned. Women demonstrating in the streets due to hunger are arrested and taken to camps in Molat and Italy. The first Sibenik partisan detachment gathered the 31st fighter and set off from the hill of Pisak on August 12, 1941. the way of Bosnia. He had his first clash with the Italians near Drniš, and on his way further he clashed with the Chetniks near Knin and suffered considerable losses. Only one third of the fighters made their way to Bosanski Grahovo, and most of them died in the fighting that followed. In order for the KP in Dalmatia to recover as quickly as possible from the blow inflicted on it by the destruction of the first partisan detachments, Rade Končar was sent from Zagreb to visit partisan organizations in Šibenik and Split to help them intensify activities in the city: sabotage, diversion and attacks on the occupiers and their spies. After a return from Šibenik to Split, the carabinieri broke into his house, Rade fled and was wounded in the leg, and arrested. After the Italians, with the help of the Ustasha police, found out that they had a high-ranking KPH official, the fascist court in Šibenik sentenced him to death by shooting. He was shot in Šubićevac together with 25 friends. And on the same day, 20 peasants from Tribunj were executed. Antonio Šokon, the secretary of the Fascist Party, a native of Šibenik, was especially hated in the city. During the summer of 1941, he sent hundreds of citizens to prison, sent dozens to a camp, sent some to be shot and personally killed them. SKOJ members decide to liquidate Šokon, which they did on October 11th. After that, the fascists randomly arrested 27 young people and shot six on October 13. Anger is growing in the city over the deaths of their children and the NOP is getting stronger. Illegals 27.10. out of revenge they attack the Fascia presidency building itself, after demolishing it, they came across a truck of Italian soldiers on which they dropped bombs. The fascists arrested a large number of citizens again, sent some to camps and shot four. Throughout the year 1942, members of the Primorska Partisan Company were constantly in action in the vicinity of Šibenik, mostly west of the Krka, attacking patrols, disrupting communications, cutting power lines and successfully fighting the Chetnik anti-communist militia. They are sinking the regular supply line for the Italians Šibenik-Zaton-Skradin, and the ship from which it was transporting troops from Šibenik to Skradin. They are so brave that they invade the center of Šibenik and kill and capture black-shirted people in the canteen, disrupting fascist parades on the waterfront by shooting at them with machine gun fire from Martinska. On December 31, 1942, the North Dalmatian Battalion was formed as a part of three smaller companies, namely: Prominsko-bukovačka, Primorska and Šibensko-drniška. Troops attacked columns of enemy troops, patrols and crews in the villages, demolishing transmission line poles and telephones.
9/8/1943 Italy
capitulated, so there was a "huge enthusiasm" among Italian
soldiers and citizens, and red flags and Croatian flags with a
red five-pointed star were hoisted in the city. The very next
day, one of the battalions of the Šibenik-Trogir detachment
entered Šibenik, negotiating with the Italians on the surrender
of weapons and the organization of a joint defense of the city
against the Germans. The Italian command in Šibenik, in order to
gain time, delayed the negotiations, because the arrival of the
Germans was expected at any moment. After unsuccessful
negotiations, they set out to disarm certain Italian troops in
order to arm the newly formed units of Šibenik volunteers. As
soon as members of the 114th Hunting Division entered the city
on 9/11, the Italian command handed over the garrison to them
without resistance. From the German occupation until the
beginning of 1944, another 8,700 people left the Šibenik area
for the partisans. A 10.9. The 8th Šibenik Dalmatian Strike
Brigade was also founded. In order to intimidate the people, who
joined the National Liberation War en masse, the occupiers are
committing unprecedented crimes throughout Dalmatia. Particular
atrocities were committed by the Chetniks of Pope Đujić together
with the Germans on February 21, 1944. in the villages of
Danilo-Biranj and Danilo-Dubrava. While the Germans were holding
security guards in the surrounding villages, the Chetniks
invaded these villages and slaughtered 31 people with knives,
mostly women and children.
With the arrival of the
Germans, Šibenik was administratively annexed to the Independent
State of Croatia and declared the seat of the parish of Bribir,
but this never materialized, nor did the great prefect ever move
to Šibenik. Even residents had to have German ID cards without
which they could be arrested and the Italian lira and Italian
postage stamps were still in circulation due to no communication
with the rest of the decaying Queensland creation. An
interesting event happened when a ship with 600 people from
Šibenik, a detainee from Molat, returned to the city to pick up
the ship immediately after the capitulation of Italy. The ship
returned decorated with red skirts because the former detainees
thought that there were still partisans in Šibenik. However,
they were released and some of them later joined the partisans.
After the arrival of the Germans in Šibenik, the Chetniks also
returned, and members of the Italian fascist militia
(black-shirted) were also in the city. At the end of 1943, one
Home Guard company from Knin and one Ustasha unit from Drniš
were sent to Šibenik, so a whole range of various armies under
German control found themselves in the city. At the end of 1943,
frequent Allied bombings of Šibenik, its port facilities and
warships began, killing and wounding dozens of civilians and
German soldiers, and demolishing the City Hall and several
residential buildings in the center. Due to that, the majority
of the population, together with the mayor appointed by the NDH,
left the city. Residents return in early 1944 when the bombing
subsides. And the captain of the corvette, Miren Blaž, was
appointed the new mayor, who later turned out to be in a
relationship with the partisans. The same was true of the head
of the police, Mato Mijanović, so the Germans arrested them for
cooperating with the partisans in the summer of 1944. The best
evidence of the anti-Ustasha atmosphere in the city is the fact
local circumstances ”. Ustasha reports also say that partisans
come to the city every day and write slogans. They themselves
know that the NDH authorities do not have any real power in
Šibenik, so one MUP report reads: "Germans are behaving like
sovereign masters, not like allies." All this time there is a
terrible famine in the city and people are dying every day
because of it, about 400 orphans are roaming the city, literally
feeding on roots, which are described as "little wild
creatures", "barefoot, naked or in rags, desperate".
With the liberation of Split and its surroundings, the First and XI units came to the Boraja area. Dalmatian Brigade, from where, together with other forces of the 26th Division, they move in the direction of Šibenik and Drniš. The first Dalmatian and III. the overseas brigade was given the task of attacking the enemy and liberating the city of Šibenik, while the XI. and XII. brigade sent for communication Šibenik — Drniš. As the units of the 19th Division liberated Benkovac and Skradin at that time and occupied the entire area on the right bank of the Krka River, the only communication by which the enemy could get out of Šibenik was the Šibenik-Drniš road. Battalions XI. and XII. brigades were given the task, even before the attack on the town, to break out on the mentioned road and attack the enemy forces, if they try to get out towards Drniš.
The battle for the liberation of Šibenik began on the night before 3.11. Parts of the 19th Division on the right bank of the Krka River opened fierce fire on German positions on the northwestern approaches to the city. During that time, the units of the I. Dalmatian and III. Overseas brigades, for the first time supported by 35 Stuart and 12 Blinds of the First Tank Brigade of the NOVJ and artillery, broke through the first enemy lines near Vrpolje on the Split-Šibenik road and immediately moved forward chasing enemy troops, which retreated towards the city. However, German forces buried on the dominant hill of St. Juraj, along the road itself, offered fierce resistance to the NOV units and stopped their penetration towards the city. Then the artillery of the 26th Division was brought in, which for a long time filled up the German trenches on Sv. George. After that, the units of the 1st Dalmatian launched a new violent attack and, in a bitter hand-to-hand fight, managed to drive the Germans off that hill. Pressed from all sides, German troops are leaving the city and have previously systematically destroyed the entire coast, port facilities and sunk ships in the port. Battalions I. Dalmatian, III. overseas and parts of the 19th North Dalmatian Division entered Šibenik at dawn on November 3, 1944. while the enemy was still in the Šubićevac fortress. Regardless of the fact that the bullets were still whistling from the fortress, the people of Šibenik took to the streets to greet the liberators: The people love them, bring figs, brandy and whatever is better. And at about 9 o'clock the parade begins. Partisans solemnly enter the city from the north. The people sprinkle them with flowers and shout: Long live Comrade Tito. There were more than a thousand well-armed and well-dressed partisans in that parade. During that time on the road Šibenik-Drniš, in the area from Konjevrat to Pokrovnik. a relentless battle ensued, in which the attacked German column exerted all its forces to retreat towards Drniš. However, trapped by units XI. and XII. Dalmatian brigades aided by tanks, exposed to crossfire by all automatic weapons, the enemy column was completely broken and eventually destroyed. Piles of slain soldiers, destroyed weapons and smashed vehicles lay on the road after the fight. Retreating together with the German-Ustasha column, an entire Chetnik corps, numbering about 300 Chetniks, was destroyed in the battle near Konjevrat.
Before the war, there were slightly more than 37,000 inhabitants in today's Šibenik municipality, but during 1944 that number dropped to about 16,000, and only 6,000 inhabitants remained in the town itself. By the end of 1942, 68,000 inhabitants had actively participated in the National Liberation War, 12% of the population or 8,182 inhabitants. By the end of the war and liberation, that number had risen to 18,814 participants or 21% of the population. When we add to that number 5,362 people who were taken to prisons and camps due to their affiliation with the NOP, then 24,176 people were involved in various forms of anti-fascist struggle, which is as much as 35.5% of the municipality's population. A total of 4,572 people died in the partisans, as victims of fascist terror or victims of war. Of these, 3,023 were killed in fighting throughout the former Yugoslavia, and 1,549 were other victims, of whom 1,123 were victims of fascist terror, of which 729 were shot. 1,194 victims were killed in the settlements, 197 in the camps, and 158 of them are considered victims of the war. The ethnic composition of the dead was: Croats 3,080, Serbs 1,450, Jews 20 and others 22. After the capitulation of Italy and before the terror of the German Nazis, 6,500 women and children fled to El Shatt. In the battle of Sutjeka alone, 1,316 fighters took part. from the municipality of Šibenik and 535 were killed, more than from any other municipality. The following fighters from Šibenik were proclaimed national heroes: Slobodan Macura Bondo, Vladimir Peran, Miro Višić, Mate Staničić, Dinko Šurkalo, Nikola Sekulić Bunko, Ljubo Truta.
1/1/1945 Šibenik became the center of ZAVNOH, then the highest authority in Croatia, so it can be said that until the liberation of Zagreb it was briefly the capital of Croatia. At that time, the following were in Šibenik: the Central Committee of the KPH, the Main Board of the AFŽ, the Main Board of the USAOH (United Alliance of Anti-Fascist Youth of Croatia), the Provincial Committee of the SKOJ, the Central Theater Company of the People's Liberated of Croatia and other organizations. In that short and glorious period, the "Sloboda" cinema was opened in Šibenik, the first post-war literary magazine in Croatia "Književnik" was printed, the Music School, the School for Business Students and the professional National Theater were established.
In 1947, two very important rebuildings of the war-torn city began. The sacristy of the Cathedral of St. Jakov, which had to be completely dismantled and rebuilt and was completed in 1949. The facsimile reconstruction of the completely demolished City Hall was carried out by the most refined conservation works at the time, and was completed in 1960 with numerous recognitions. In 1948, the badly damaged port was rebuilt and expanded after the German bombing, and the Public Health Center was established and moved into the former building of the Labor Exchange. 1950 Ivo Vitić builds the first primary school of Sime Matavulj. In 1951, work began on the construction of the Ražine-Šibenik Aluminum Factory and Rolling Mill. For the needs of that factory and at the same time for the city, the construction of a new water supply system from the Krka Waterfalls began, which was completed in 1953. In the meantime, the renamed Light Metal Factory "Boris Kidrič" was completed in 1955. the shipping company "Obalna plovidba", the future "Slobodna plovidba", is established. And in 1957, "Komunalna banka" was founded, which in 1965 changed its name to "Jadranska banka Šibenik". From 19 to 25.7.1958. the first Yugoslav Children's Festival was held. From 1958 to 1961, a large complex of recent architecture in the historic center of Šibenik was built according to the project of Ivo Vitić, which includes: the hotel "Jadran", the cinema "Šibenik" and the building of the municipality of Šibenik. And next to Poljana, Marshal Tito Vitić is building the JNA House building, for which the architect received the "Borbina" award for the best architectural achievement in Croatia in 1960. and the "blue skyscraper." And in 1961, the elementary school "Lepa Šarić" ended near them. In 1962, the magnificent "Memorial Park of the Executed" was opened. The year 1966 is marked by the 900th anniversary of the city of Šibenik. President Tito, the patron of the great jubilee, then visited Šibenik again, as he had done before: in 1948, 1953, 1955, 1958 and 1965. And in the same year, the "Šibenik" bridge on the Adriatic Highway was finally opened to traffic and significantly improved. traffic connection of the city, which until then was connected to the west side of the Krka by ferries. Towards the end of the celebratory year, the construction of the tourist resort Solaris began, whose fourth and last hotel Andrija was completed in 1971. In 1971, the elementary school "Mate Bujas" was built in Crnica. The elementary school "Marshal Tito" started in Baldekin and was completed in 1973. The factory of plastic products "Poliplast" was built, and the construction of the bus station in Draga and the Baldekin hall began in 1971. From 1973 to 1975, architect Ante Vulin worked on reconstruction of the Rector's Palace into the "Museum of the City of Šibenik", and its masterful solution received the "Vladimir Nazor Award". In 1979, a part of the competition of the 8th Mediterranean Games was held in Šibenik: volleyball, football and kayaking in Zaton. In 1980, the largest department store in Dalmatia "Šibenka" was opened and the construction of the largest residential area in Šibenik "Vidici" began, completed in 1984. After 8 years of construction, the Polyclinic was completed, the first facility in the city built in a brutalist style. 4/9/1983 basketball club Šibenik with a victory in the championship over K.K. After Drazen Petrovic's free throws, Bosnia becomes the champion of Yugoslavia. After that, the fans organized an unprecedented celebration in the city, so that day is considered the day of the founding of the fan group "Šibenik Funcuti". Within a year, the elementary school "Rade Končar" on Šubićevo was built and handed over for use in 1984. The following year, the construction of the "new post office" was completed, and the building was awarded as the best architectural achievement in Croatia in 1985. the settlement of Krvavice and the new residential complex on Šubićevac, and in 1988 on Meterize. In 1989, the construction of a new high school center was completed. 4/9/1991 "Elemes" basketball players beat "Red Stars" basketball players and become champions of Yugoslavia.
From a pre-war peasant town
with about 16 thousand inhabitants, Šibenik in this period grew into
a significant center of industrial production (non-ferrous metals,
ferrous metallurgy, plastic products), maritime economy (large
shipping company "Slobodna plovidba", Naval Technical Institute
"Velimir Škorpik ") and port-transit traffic for special bulk cargo
(phosphate and fertilizer), and production and trade of wine and
alcoholic beverages (Vinoplod-Vinarija), etc. with 41 thousand
inhabitants in 1991. In the sixties, seventies and especially the
eighties suddenly tourism is also developing when large tourist and
catering facilities are being built throughout the Riviera. And
thanks to the natural potentials within the then municipality of
Šibenik, as many as two National Parks were proclaimed, "Kornati" in
1980 and "Krka" in 1985. So in 1990, 400,000 mostly foreign tourists
stayed on the Šibenik Riviera, realizing 3.5 million overnight
stays. The urban agglomeration has more than doubled. In the
fifties, the first "lying" skyscrapers were built on Baldekin, and
in the eighties, large residential settlements sprang up in Vidice,
Krvavice, Šubićevac and Meterize. Several school buildings were
built, of which eight large school buildings, the Polyclinic, the
Šubićevac sports stadium, the Baldekin hall, the outdoor pool on
Crnica and the indoor pool in Solaris, etc.
In 1988, Šibenik
ranked second in the FR of Croatia in terms of the level of
development, according to the then main economic indicators.
At the beginning of the war in Croatia, the city of
Šibenik and its surroundings found themselves under attack by
Krajina forces from the Dalmatian hinterland, which over time were
increasingly supported by the JNA. When barracks and other JNA
facilities were blocked in September 1991, the Knin Corps under
General Ratko Mladic launched a major offensive on Sibenik. After
several days of fierce fighting, known as the so-called September
war, JNA forces were forced to withdraw, and these events were
considered one of the first great Croatian victories in the war.
Šibenik itself suffered relatively little in these events, but was
subjected to constant bombing from Krajina positions, which caused
destruction and casualties. The war operations in the vicinity of
Šibenik ended with Operation Storm in the summer of 1995.
After the war, heavy industry was destroyed and tourism died out.
The destruction of the industry was mostly due to problems with the
distribution of electricity and policies. TEF was destroyed instead
of relocated to the already prepared Podi business zone. The TLM was
rebuilt after the war, but not entirely because of its policy
towards BiH. And other production plants, shipping companies,
trading companies were destroyed by privatizations. The hotels
housed over 18,000 displaced persons and refugees after which
tourist resources remained destroyed. The result of all this is that
one of the richest cities of the SFRY at the end of the 20th century
turned into a "city of chance". And the population is constantly
declining and has 9,000 fewer than in 1991.