Sinj

Sister cities

• Sansepolcro
• Vukovar
• Šibenik
• Barban
• Prozor-Rama
• Đakovo
• Trogir
• Montemarciano

History

Several stone weapons and tools discovered in the region attest to the area's population dating back to the Mesolithic. 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. Following the extinction of the Trpimirović dynasty in 1102, the country was united with Hungary under the Árpád dynasty. The Cetina was ruled almost independently by the Domald family since the beginning of the 13th century, when in 1210, Prince Domald of Cetina was awarded the Cetina County by king Andrew II. 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. The "Diary of the Siege of Sinj" is a written Venetian account of the events; no Turkish sources mentioning the siege or battle have been discovered thus far. 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 Germanisation and Austrian bureaucracy, Sinj made significant progress under the Austrians. In the famous 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…

Geography

Sinj is located in Dalmatia, in the region historically known as Cetinska Krajina, a group of settlements situated around a fertile karstic field of Sinjsko Polje (300 m 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 Sinj from the Adriatic sea.