Location: Split-Dalmatia County Map
Info: Obala bana Berislavica 12
(021) 881 412
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Trogir (in Italian and Dalmatian Traù, in Latin Tragurium, in Greek Tragurion, in Hungarian Trau) is a port and historical city on the Adriatic coast, in the Split-Dalmatia region, Croatia, where 10,907 inhabitants reside (2001) , 13,322 in the municipality (2001). Trogir is located 27 km west of Split. The city is built on a small island (about 1 km²) located between the mainland and the island of Ciovo. The center of the city is considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1997.
Trogir is a historic Croatian city located in Split-Dalmatia County on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. It was initially found by the Greek colonists who liked the this well defended and well suitable harbor. Greeks also gave the city its name after a Greek tragos that means male goat. The city was demolished by the Saracen invasion in 1123. Its reconstruction was carried out by the Genoese and Venetians who fought over possession of the strategic harbor. In the late 18th century Trogir became part of the Habsburg Empire, after World War I it became part of Yugoslavia. Upon the break up Trogir went into possession of Croatia.
Croatian town of Trogir was first mentioned in the 3rd century BC. It rose to prominence by playing an important role as a trading post between Greek colonists and local tribes. Over time Trogir was overshadowed by much larger town of Split. However coming of Dark Ages to the Roman Empire along with hordes of barbarians became a mixed blessing for Trogir. Its strategic island position made sure that even small military garrison could defend residents of the town. Unlike nearby cities Trogir wasn't sacked by the barbarians. The old historic part of the town is added to a UNESCO World Heritage due to its unique architecture.
The beginnings of tourism date back to the 1930s, when
tourists from Czechoslovakia and other Central European
countries began to arrive. It is often visited by prominent
world figures from culture and politics, such as George
Bernard Shaw, and King Edward VIII of England. accompanied
by Wallis Simpson. Prominent Croatian and foreign painters
often come to Trogir. The first tourist guide to the city's
sights was published in 1936. After the Second World War,
tourism revived, especially from the mid-1960s, when
significant accommodation facilities began to be built.
It is characteristic of Trogir that it is not a classic
tourist resort where guests come because of the sun and the
sea, but because of getting to know its historical and
cultural heritage. Therefore, its accommodation capacities
were limited, and tourists located in the wider region.
Until the 1990s, there was no aspiration to build large
tourist capacities, because the economic development of the
City primarily depended on the shipbuilding industry. Hotel
Medena with 1300 beds, apartments and a camp is the only
hotel with significant accommodation capacities. Next to it
there are a dozen smaller hotels, with a capacity of 20 to
50 beds. A significant number of accommodation capacities
fall on private accommodation. There are also three
auto-camps, with a capacity of 3000 seats.
Due to the
rapid expansion of nautical tourism, two modern marinas have
been built in the Trogir area, with the possibility of
accepting up to 500 boats. ACI Trogir is located on Ciovo,
right next to the shipyard, and opposite the city
waterfront, which provides special benefits. The marina has
the possibility of accommodating boats throughout the year,
and repairs and maintenance of ships. ACI marina Trogir also
has its own fleet of sailboats from 7 to 15 meters, which is
rented throughout the year. Adventure tourism is on the
rise, so in addition to the classic forms of renting sports
boats, parachutes, fishing with huts and one-day cruises,
there is also a diving school known throughout Europe.
Ornithological tourism in the area of the Pantan
Nature Park is still in its infancy and is poorly promoted
and visited.
Kamerlengo Castle (Gradina
Kamerlengo)
Cathedral of St. Lawrence
Garagnin-Fanfogna Palace is a complex consisting of two blocks of Romanesque and Gothic houses, created in the second half of the 18th century on that occasion, united according to the project of Ignacij Macanović. The southern one-storey building with an external staircase had an economic purpose, and today it serves as a city lapidary in which the walls of the Hellenistic Traguri are presented. Upstairs is the Cate Dujšin-Ribar gallery. The main entrance to the palace with a vestibule and staircase was on the east side of the block, in the main city street, and was decorated with components of late Baroque Macanović decoration. The interior has preserved a salon with ceiling stucco from the 18th century. There is also a rich library of Ivan L. Garagnin (1722-1783), a collector of archaeological monuments and numismatics, decorated with a wall painting with portraits of philosophers and writers. A collection of paintings and etchings from the 17th and 18th centuries has also been preserved. The palace houses the Museum of the City of Trogir.
Trogir City Museum
The Trogir City Museum was opened to
the public in 1966. It is located in the Garagnin Palace (or
Garagnin-Fanfogna; also a protected cultural property). The
permanent exhibition of the Museum shows historical
movements, artistic styles and everyday life of the city
from the Middle Ages to the present day. The protected
museum holdings of the Trogir City Museum include the Zlata
Radej Ceramics Collection, the Cate Dujšin-Ribar Gallery
Collection, the Ethnographic Collection, the Lapidary
Archaeological Collection, the Medieval Cultural History
Collection, the Modern Cultural History Collection, the
Contemporary History Collection, the Contemporary Art
Collection, and the Contemporary Art Collection. Maritime
collection.
Tower of St. Mark in Trogir
Tower of St. Marka is located
in the northwest of the old part of Trogir. The round tower
adapted for defense against cannon shots was built by the
Venetian Republic during the 15th century, at the time of
the Turkish invasions. The tower is exposed towards the
mainland, and was originally connected by the city walls
with the Kamerlengo fortress.
Not far from the tower,
more precisely on the promenade between the Kamerlengo tower
and the tower itself, and next to the football field stands
Gloriette (classicist pavilion) - a circular colonnade of
classicist shapes. It was built in 1809. during the
short-lived French rule, and in honor of Marshal Marmont. It
is important to emphasize that Gloriette is one of the few
monuments of French rule in Dalmatia.
The Church of St. Peter belonged to the Benedictine nunnery,
which according to tradition was founded in 1242 by the wife
of the Hungarian-Croatian King Bela IV. On the main façade
is a baroque portal in which the lunette with the bust of
St. Petra, the work of Nicholas of Florence. In the second
half of the 17th century, the interior was baroqued. A
wooden ceiling was made divided into oval, semi-oval and
hexagonal fields framed by richly profiled frames with
twisted ribbon. Two side marble altars dedicated to the
Mother of God and St. Ignatius of Loyola. Monumental statues
of St. Peter and Paul from the middle of the 17th century
have been preserved from the wooden main altar. In the
sidewalk of the church, the decorated tombstones of the
Andreis and Cipiko families from Trogir stand out.
The Church of St. Sebastian was built in 1476 as a vow of
the citizens of Trogir to St. Sebastian for salvation from
the plague. The facade of this Renaissance building, made by
Nikola Firentinac, is decorated with sculptures of St.
Sebastian, the coats of arms of Bishop Jacob Turlon and the
city prince Malipier, and above them a sculpture of Christ
the Savior. Above the façade rises a two-story city clock
tower. In the part of the eastern wall, two conches of the
six-leafed Church of St. Mary, which stood on the eastern
side, have been preserved to the top. Along the side walls
inside the church, three sarcophagi used for burials under
the pavement of the porch of the Church of St. Mary are
presented. A stone plaque with the names of veterans from
the Trogir area who died in the Homeland War has been placed
on the west wall.
The Trogir town lodge was first
mentioned in the 13th century. It originally served as an
open space for public gatherings, and on certain days and
hours it was intended for organized communal legal service,
concluding contracts, publishing laws, as well as the trial
itself. On the east wall in 1471, a retable of Justice was
depicted depicting a Venetian lion and the patron saints of
the city, St. Lawrence and Blessed John of Trogir, the work
of the workshop of Nikola Firentinac. It is a monument made
in honor of the Venetian Republic. The central field
depicting a lion was removed in 1932. On the south wall is a
relief depicting Ban Petar Berislavić on horseback, the work
of Ivan Meštrović. The lodge was renovated in 1892.
Rotonda All Marija na Poljani belongs to the typology of
six-leafed churches of the first half of the 9th century.
The church is a building surmounted by a central dome and
surrounded by six apses, modeled on the Carolingian chapels.
Her four altars are mentioned: the main one dedicated to the
Assumption of Mary, the second, the Renaissance altar of St.
Jerolim erected in 1463, st. Mary of Loreto and St. Lucia.
It was demolished in the middle of the 19th century, and the
appearance has been preserved on a 19th-century graphic made
by the French artist Ch. L. Clerisseau. The apses outside
had three niches separated by ledges, and the tambour of the
dome was rhythmic with niches with windows. To the west of
the church there is a mention of a porch that was used as a
courtroom, and in front of it a city street closed in the
15th century by the construction of a city clock tower.
| Town Hall (Trogir) Trg Ivana Pavla II Saint Barbara Church (Trogir) It is the oldest of the surviving churches in Trogir. It was constructed in the 9th century. Church of St. Nicholas (Trogir) Gradska ulica 2 Tel. (021) 881 631 |
Church of St. Dominic (Trogir) Obala Bana Berislavica Open: summer: 8am- noon, 4pm- 7pm daily Church of St. John the Baptist (Trogir) Land Gate (Trogir) Statue of Saint John of Trokir |
In the third century B. C., Tragurio was
founded by Greek settlers from the Isle of Vis, developing
as an important port until the arrival of the Roman Empire.
The rapid prosperity of Salona (today Solin, near Split)
reduced the importance of Trogir. During the migration of
the Slavs, the citizens of the destroyed Salona fled to
Trogir. From the ninth century, Trogir paid tribute to the
successive kings of Croatia. The diocese of Trogir was
established in the eleventh century (abolished in 1828) and
in 1107 was left to the Hungarian king Coloman, thus gaining
its autonomy as a city.
In 1123 it was conquered and
almost completely destroyed by the Saracens. However, Trogir
recovered after a short period experiencing a powerful
economic prosperity during the 12th and 13th centuries. In
1242 King Béla IV found refuge here when he fled from the
Tartars. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Šubic family
frequently governed the duchy of Trogir, elected by the
citizens; Mladen III 1348, according to the inscription that
appears in the tomb of the Cathedral of Trogir, called "the
shield of the Croats", was one of the most prominent members
of the Šubic family.
In 1420, a long period begins
under Venetian control. With the fall of Venice in 1797,
Trogir became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that had
control of the city until 1918, except during the occupation
of the city by France between 1806 and 1814.
After
the First World War, Trogir, together with all of Croatia,
became part of the "State of the Slovenes, Croats and
Serbs", which would later be known as Yugoslavia. The
Italian Dalmatians of Trau, under the command of Count
Farfogna, tried to imitate what D'Annunzio did in Fiume by
creating an independent Italian territory in 1919, but the
tentative failed. During World War II, Trogir was occupied
by Italy and later liberated in 1944. From then on it
belonged to Yugoslavia, and since 1991 to Croatia.