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Split Croatia - History Overview
Split (Italian: Spalato) is the largest and most important city in Dalmatia .It is situated on a small peninsula on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, in the foothills of Kozjak and Mosor mountains.
Split has been ruled by Rome, the Byzantine Empire, and intermittently by Croatian and Hungarian nobility, until the Venetian Republic took control in 1420 and held it until its own downfall in 1797, when it fell to Austria-Hungary with a brief period of Napoleonic rule (1806–1813).
During this time, Split developed into an important port city with trade routes to the interior through the nearby Klis pass.
Culture flourished as well, Split being the hometown of Marko Marulic, one of the classics of Croatian literature, and a place where he wrote Judita (1501, published in 1521), widely held to be the first modern work of literature in Croatian.
Timeline
A.D. 293: Roman emperor Diocletian , known for his reforms and persecution of Christians, preparing for his retirement from politics in 305, orders work on his palace to begin.
The palace faces the sea on its south side and its walls are 570 to 700 feet (170 to 200 m) long and 50 to 70 feet (15 to 20 m) high, and it encloses an area of 9½ acres (38,000 m²).
313: After Diocletian’s death the luxurious Palace is used as a residence of expelled Roman emperors and their family members.
639: Long deserted, the interior of Diocletians Palace is converted into a town by the citizens of Salona who escape the destruction of their town by the Avars and Slavs.
(*Over the centuries, the city has spread out over the surrounding landscape, but even today the palace constitutes the inner core of the city, still inhabited, full of shops, markets, squares, with even a Christian cathedral (formerly Diocletian's mausoleum) inserted in the corridors and floors of the former palace.)
812 to 1069: Split acknowledges the supremacy of the Byzantine emperors from when it was annexed to Croatia by King Petar Kresimir IV.
1105: The city acknowledges the nominal suzerainty of Hungarian-Croatian kings, having preserved its autonomy based on its ancient municipal rights.
1207: Citizens elect Croatian, Hum and Bosnian feudal lords for their priors and commissioners (Duke Domald, Petar of Hum, Grgur of Bribir, Pavao and Mladen Subic, Hrvoje Vukcic Hrvatinic).
1420: Split acknowledges the protectorate of Venice which wants to strengthen its position in Dalmatia and restrict the rights of the cities.
1573: The city is threatened by the Ottoman Turks.
1797: Venice falls together with the remaining Dalmatia under the power of Austria.
1805: Cedes to France under the Treaty of Pressburg.
1813 -1918: Is again under the sovereignty of Austria.
End of World War I: Following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the province of Dalmatia along with Split become a part of The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (which in 1929 changes its name to Yugoslavia).
1941: Axis forces invade Yugoslavia. Split is occupied by the Italians and formally annexed one month later.
1943: City is liberated by Partisans only to be occupied by the Germans a few weeks later. Port facilities as well as parts of the old city are damaged by Allied bombing.
1944:Partisans liberate the city and Split becomes the provisional capital of Partisans-controlled Croatia until the end of the war.
1945: Becomes a part of Croatia, itself a constituent republic of the socialist federal Yugoslavia.
1945-1990: Developes as an important commercial and cultural center attracting rural migrants who find employment in the newly built factories.
1991:Croatia declares independence from Yugoslavia which leads to months of a tense stand-off between JNA (Yugoslav National Army) and Croatian military and police forces in Split.
Today: Split is Croatia’s second largest city and the economic and administrative center of Middle Dalmatia. It's economy relies mostly on trade and tourism with some old industries undergoing revival, such as food (fishing, olive, wine production), paper, concrete, and chemicals.
Hotels Split Croatia
Getting to Split Croatia
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