Mediterrana

Šibenik, North Dalmatia, Croatia

SIBENIK, a city and port in northern Dalmatia, not far from the estuary of the Krka river into the Bay of Sibenik, connected by narrow straits with the Sibenik Channel. The city is arranged amphitheatrically around the natural harbour and on the surrounding hill slopes.

The climate is mild. The average air temperature in January is 6.5°C and 24.2°C in July; around 2,750 hours of sunshine a year.

Economy is based on industry (non-ferrous metals, aluminium), textiles and food processing as well as on shipbuilding and tourism.

The city, with the old fortresses of St. Anne, St. John and Subicevac overlooking it, consists of the Old Town, characterized by narrow and steep alleys in the west, and the modern part in the north and south-east.

Sibenik is a cultural centre: the International Child's Festival. There is a department of the Faculty of Economics of the Split University. Chief occupations in the Sibenik surroundings are viniculture, vegetable and fruit growing.

Sibenik lies at the intersection of the main roads Zadar - Sibenik - Split (M2, E65) and Sibenik - Drnis - Knin (M11.02); the railroad over Perkovic connects Sibenik with the railroad Zagreb - Knin - Split. Ferry connections with the neighbouring islands (Prvic, Zlarin, Zirje, Kaprije, Obonjan).

The historic town of Šibenik, connected with the expansion and development of the early Croatian state, is rich in cultural and historical monuments. The most representative among them is the famous Cathedral of Sibenik, one of the most original architectural projects of the late Middle Ages, primarily linked to the local master Juraj Matejev Dalmatinac (George of Dalmatia).

Šibenik is today a tourist centre situated in the area where the best-indented archipelago in Europe (Islands of Kornati) and karst hydrographical phenomena (Skradinski Buk, Visovac, Roski Waterfall) merge into the ecologically and aesthetically most attractive tourist and recreational zone on the Croatian Adriatic.