Šibenik – beautiful city on the Adriatic coast

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Today I will write about Šibenik, my hometown. Šibenik is located on the coast of the Adriatic sea and it is surrounded by large hills which has greatly helped the city to develop through history.

You can see Šibenik on the map of Croatia
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Near the city there are two national parks, river Krka and islands of Kornati. Šibenik has around 45 thousand inhabitants. The city is touristly developed, I will write you about some special places of the city later.

National Park Krka
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National Park Kornati
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History

Šibenik is the oldest city on the Adriatic coast. The first time it was mentioned in 1066 in the writings of the the king Petar Krešimir IV. Because of this, a monument of this king is in the center of the city.

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In 1298, Šibenik gained its own diocese and with this we can conclude that the city was developed and strong at that time.

In the 15th century, Šibenik came under Venetian rule. Although it sounds bad, the city has been culturally elevated to higher level . Many buildings and monuments where built in that time which are still standing at the same place.

After this, the entire Adriatic coast was occupied by the Ottoman Empire and Šibenik is one of the few towns that did not fallen. A great battle for Šibenik where in 1647 and the city was defended then.

Battle of Šibenik
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In the 18th century the city came under the French rule and after this under the Austrian rule whose authority remained until the end of the First World War. During the World War II the city was under Italian occupation but after the war it enters in the Yugoslavia in which city remains until 1991 after which Croatia becomes an independent country.

Interesting places in Šibenik

If you are in Šibenik you must visit the old city. The most famous building in the city is cathedral of st. James. The cathedral was built to the end in 1536. The most lucrative man for construction was an architect named Juraj Dalmatinac. The cathedral was heavily damaged during the war in 1991 but soon afterwards it was repaired.

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Near the cathedral there is a city hall. It is one of the most famous cultural monuments in the city so you need to visit it.

City hall
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Near to the city hall there is one of the oldest buildings in the city. It is famous because the first city caffe was opened in this building.

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There are many churches in the city that are remarkably beautiful.

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Also, there is a beautiful theatre of Šibenik in the centre of the city.

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By me, the most interesting places in the town are the fortresses. There are four of them.
The fortress of saint Nicholas is a naval fort. It was built in the 16th century. It is located in the narrow sea passage and it served to defend Šibenik from the Ottoman empire which attacked from the sea.

Fortress of saint Nicholas
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The second fortress is called by the saint Michael. It is not known in which centruy it was built but it's exceptionally old. It is located 70 meters above the sea and it is located in the center of the city. It was very useful in the wars through history because of the height it was much easier to fight against the enemies.

Fortress of saint Michael
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Third fortress is called by the saint John. It is located at the top of the hill which is located north of the center. It was created in the 17th century and it was also built due to the danger of the Ottoman Empire.

Fortress of saint John
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The last fortress is called Šubićevac. It was built at the same time as the fortress of the saint John. It is located at an altitude of 80 meters and it also served to defend Šibenik against the Ottomans.

Fortress Šubićevac
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From this fortress you can see the most beautiful view of the city.

View from fortress of Šubićevac
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This is a brief overview of the Šibenik which has many more interesting places to look at and surely you will not be able to visit all in one day.

If you are interested to found out more about city just leave a comment and if you been in the Šibenik please tell me what do you like the most! Thank you for reading!
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