Sinj

Coordinates: 43°42′9″N 16°38′17″E / 43.70250°N 16.63806°E / 43.70250; 16.63806
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with
Sanj
.
Sinj
Town
Grad Sinj
Town of Sinj
Aerial view of Sinj
Aerial view of Sinj
Map
Sinj is located in Croatia
Sinj
Sinj
Location of Sinj in Croatia
Coordinates: 43°42′9″N 16°38′17″E / 43.70250°N 16.63806°E / 43.70250; 16.63806
Country Croatia
Historical regionDalmatia
County Split-Dalmatia
Government
 • TypeMayor-Council
 • MayorMiro Bulj (Most)
 • Town Council
21 members
(1)
Area
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
21230
Area code+385 021
Vehicle registrationST
Websitesinj.hr

Sinj (Croatian:

urban core
.

Sinj is known for a knights' tournament of Sinjska alka,[3] which has been held since the beginning of the 18th century as a sign of victory over the Ottoman invaders, and for the shrine of Our Lady of Sinj. The urban center of Sinj is a protected cultural heritage site.[4]

Geography

Cetina river near Sinj

Sinj is located in

AMSL), once shaped by the flood waters of the Cetina river. The field lies between the mountains of Svilaja (1508 m), Dinara (1913 m), Kamešnica (1855 m) and Visoka (890 m). Further south, the mountain Mosor (1339 m) separates it from the Adriatic sea. The mountains give Sinj its specific submediterranean climate, with a total annual rainfall of about 1300 mm.[5] Winters are wet and cold, especially in the mornings, when temperatures can drop below -10°C, whereas summers are hot and dry, with temperatures surpassing +40°C.[5] Partly due to its location in a valley, Sinj is one of the coldest Dalmatian
towns in winter and one of the warmest in summer.

History

Prehistory

Several stone weapons and tools discovered in Cetinska Krajina attest to the area's population dating back to the Mesolithic.[5][6] Many caves and dugouts contain evidence of later Neolithic settlements. About 1000 years BC, the area was inhabited by the Illyrian tribe Dalmatae. They were settled in the area between the rivers of Krka and Cetina, where they clashed with the Romans in the period of wars from 156 BC to 9 AD, ending with their complete defeat under the leadership of Bato the Daesitiate.[5]

Roman era

In Roman times, there were two important localities in the vicinity of Sinj: Colonia Claudia Aequum near today's village of Čitluk, and Tilurium, today's Gardun near Trilj.

Aequum was probably founded by

Hekate (Diana) and the head of Heracles were discovered there, which are kept in the archaeological collection of the Franciscan monastery. This is the birthplace of Roman general Sextus Julius Severus, who suppressed the Jewish uprising and destroyed Jerusalem
in 135 AD.

During the long period of peace (Pax Romana), the Romans built roads in the area, fortified Osinium (Sinj), on Illyrian foundations, and Tilurium on the southernmost edge of the polje of Sinj; they built a bridge on Cetina (Pons Tilurii) and numerous villa rusticas.[5] Tilurium was once home to the Roman 7th legion, followed by Roman auxiliary units.

Since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the Cetina region had been ruled by the Byzantine Empire.

Arrival of Croats

Iron spangenhelm, Migration Period

It is unknown when the Croats settled in the area. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII mentions the Cetina County among the Croatian administrative units in his 10th century work De Administrando Imperio.

Over time, a settlement developed beneath the old fortress, which was referred to as Cetina after the nearby river, but the name of the old town Sinj was eventually transferred to it, and it remains so to this day. Following the extinction of the Trpimirović dynasty in 1102, the country was united with Hungary under the Árpád dynasty, but Cetina was ruled almost independently by the Domaldo family, then by the powerful Croatian Šubić family from the end of the 13th century, falling under the rule of the Nelipić family in the middle of the 14th century. It was ruled by the Talovci family beginning in the middle of the 15th century, followed by general discord and internal conflicts until it fell to the Ottoman Turks.[5]

Ottoman and Venetian era

In 1513[

Bosnia to the Adriatic Sea. Part of the Croatian population fled, part remained, and the smallest part converted to Islam. At the time, the fortress and its suburb had about a hundred houses and about a thousand inhabitants.[5]

Remains of the Old Town of Sinj fortress on top of the hill

With the return of power of the

Girolamo Cornaro with about 7,000 fighters[citation needed
] captured the fortress on September 25, 1686.

Due to harsh living conditions and constant oppression under Ottoman rule, the domicile population declined, so Venetian authorities attempted to attract people from western Bosnia. The most massive migration took place in 1687, led by the

Rama monastery. In August 1715, during the Second Morean War, the Turks tried to retake Sinj and kept it under siege. The siege was unsuccessful, owing primarily to the collapse of Ottoman logistics,[7] hunger and the outbreak of dysentery;[8] on the night of August 15, the Turks fled to Livno. Contrary to popular belief, it appears that Venetian professional army units bore the majority of the burden in the conflict with Ottoman forces, rather than local fighters.[7] The "Diary of the Siege of Sinj" is a written Venetian account of the events;[9] no Turkish sources mentioning the siege or battle have been discovered thus far.[7]

Following the

Venetian Republic
. The period is considered the one of poor prospects, although the town began to develop as a result of increased trade with Bosnia. The settlement was moved from the old and unsuitable fortress to the plain, where a new church, a monastery and the first residential houses were built soon after.

Austrian and French rule

The Republic of Venice and its possessions were abolished by the agreement between Napoleon and Holy Roman Empire (Austria) on October 17, 1797. Napoleon ceded the Venetian possessions to Austria, and in July the first Austrian troops arrived in Cetinska Krajina. This marked the beginning of the first Austrian occupation of Dalmatia, which would last for eight years. As a result of new Austrian policies, Sinj's first public elementary school opened in 1798.[5]

With the defeat in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Austria was forced to hand over all former Venetian possessions to Napoleon, giving the region a new master at the beginning of 1806. A tumultuous and significant period of French rule began that would last seven years. In 1811, the French established the Municipality of Sinj. The French administration canceled state subsidies wherever it was possible, thus canceling the support for Alka. Following Napoleon's defeat in Russia and near Leipzig in 1813, the Austrian army reoccupied Dalmatia, and Sinj. After the

compromise of 1867), head of the district of the same name, one of the 13 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in the Kingdom of Dalmatia.[10]

To get to know the newly acquired properties, Austrian Emperor Francis II takes a journey through Dalmatia in 1818, and visits Sinj. The people of Sinj use the opportunity to organize the tournament of Alka, which Francis II liked so much that he established a permanent annual financial support.

Despite

First World War
began in 1914, with significant casualties in the Cetina region.

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes

The church bell tower and the Old Town of Sinj in 1940

After the defeat of Austria in WWI, a new union was created in 1918, the

National Assembly in Belgrade in 1928, the town sent an Alka delegation to his funeral in Zagreb. Between the two world wars, the town developed a vibrant and diverse cultural life: two amateur theater groups, large choirs, two brass bands, and a philharmonic orchestra were established, and a large number of local intellectuals received classical
(est. 1854) and real (est. 1921) high school education.

The city center was first electrified around 1922.[5]

Second World War

The town and nearby settlements were under the rule of military forces of the Independent State of Croatia, Italian, and German armies. This resulted in the spread of the idea of

Battle of the Neretva, nineteen-year-old Bruno Vuletić from Sinj commanded the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Dalmatian Brigade, some of which were the first to cross the collapsed bridge and attack the Axis-aligned Chetniks
.

On October 25, 1944, the town was liberated by the forces of the 20th Division of the Yugoslav Army.[12]

During the war, 479 residents of the Sinj region were interned in concentration camps, the majority of whom never returned.[12] On April 22, 1945, Ante Bakotić from Sinj led the escape of male prisoners from the Jasenovac Concentration Camp, shortly before the end of WWII. Many of the 1,073 detainees at the time, including Bakotić, did not survive the flight.

Socialist Republic of Croatia

The Dalmatinka Yarn and Thread Factory in 1950s/1960s

Following WWII, there was extensive work to increase

solfeggio, piano, violin, and wind instruments.[15]

The city was rapidly expanding through planned construction, which began with housing for workers at the newly established megafactory Dalmatinka; the town's Olympic swimming pool was built in parallel with the building of the factory.[14][16][8] Sinjski skojevci Elementary School opened (in 1977), as well as with a new large sports hall, a hotel, a hippodrome for the 1979 Mediterranean Games, and a large high school building. The construction of the Split-Zagreb state road (1963) improves traffic connections,[13] but the narrow-gauge railway known as Sinjska rera, which connected the town to Split, was discontinued in 1962.

Independent Croatia

View of Sinj from the Old Town

Since the summer of 1991, a large part of the old Municipality of Sinj was occupied, and Sinj was within artillery range of the rebel Serbs' positions, about 6 km away; some 3,000 shells were fired at the city.[5] Along with the rest of Dalmatia, Sinj was cut off from the motherland in terms of transportation and energy.

In modern Croatia, Sinj has regressed economically: industry from the socialist period either collapsed or was destroyed by war and tycoon privatization during the war.[13] Most of the economy consists of service activities. The city promotes the development of agriculture, transport, tourism, and industry, so far with limited success.[13][17]

Demographics

As of the 2021 census, the total population of the municipality was 23 452, distributed across the following

settlements:[18]

Town of Sinj: Population trends 1857–2021
population
7600
8256
9025
10089
11543
13205
13770
14829
15526
16864
18687
20598
23849
25985
25373
24826
23452
18571869188018901900191019211931194819531961197119811991200120112021
Sources: Croatian Bureau of Statistics publications

Attractions

Sinjska alka knight's tournament

Sinj is well-known for

political establishment attention. Sinj is also a pilgrimage site, with thousands of Christian worshippers visiting on the feast of the Assumption to participate in the procession with the painting of Our Lady of Sinj
.

Sinj is home to the Museum of the Cetinska Krajina Region,[19] Museum of Alka,[20] Archaeological Collection of the Franciscan Monastery,[21] and two galleries.

Twin towns and sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Croatia

Sinj is

twinned
with:

References

  1. Wikidata Q119585703
    .
  2. ^ "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2021 Census". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2021. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Sinjska Alka, a knights' tournament in Sinj". UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  4. ^ "Kulturno-povijesna urbanistička cjelina Sinja". Registar kulturnih dobara Republike Hrvatske (in Croatian). Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  5. ^
    ISBN 953-98209-9-5
    .
  6. ^ Borković, Velimir (1982). "Historijsko - geografske osnove naseljavanja Cetine". Hrvatski geografski glasnik. 44 (1): 69–84.
  7. ^
    doi:10.21857/moxpjho5lm
    . Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  8. ^ a b c "History". www.visitsinj.hr. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  9. ^ Marković, Ivan (1898). Sinj in njegovo slavlje, god. 1887: spomen knjiga (in Croatian). Dionička tisk.
  10. ^ Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890, Wilhelm KLEIN, 1967
  11. ^ Perić, Marinko (1974). Sinj i Cetinska krajina u borbi za slobodu. Sinj: Turističko društvo Cetinska krajina : Turist biro Alkar.
  12. ^
    ISBN 86-7397-073-3
    .
  13. ^ a b c d Paštar, Toni (2021-09-09). "Radnice su plakale dok su im rušili tvornice: sinjska 'Dalmatinka' nekad je zapošljavala 2650 radnika, 'Cetinka' 1100, IGRO 'Sinj' 450, 'Konkurent' 400, 'Sinjanka' 330..." (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  14. ^
    ISSN 0547-2504
    .
  15. ^ "Glazbena škola Jakova Gotovca u Sinju". Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Dalmatinka". Hrvatska tehnička enciklopedija (in Croatian). 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  17. ^ Paštar, Toni (2021-04-29). "Kako su sve sinjske vlasti dosad više uništavale nego unaprjeđivale centar Cetinske krajine: ovo je 11 neuralgičnih točaka u alkarskom gradu" (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  18. ^ "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2011 Census: Sinj". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
  19. ^ "Museum of the Cetinska Krajina Region". www.visitsinj.hr. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  20. ^ "Museum Alka of Sinj". www.visitsinj.hr. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  21. ^ "Archaeological Collection of the Sinj Franciscan Monastery". www.visitsinj.hr. Retrieved 2024-03-22.

External links

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