(Šibenik, Croatia)
Sasha and I wanted to visit another Croatian highlight during our stay, specifically Krka National Park. This park is only an hour or so south of Zadar, so it is completely doable in a day trip. By the time we were ready to visit, however, we found that none of the local tour companies were still headed that direction. There were not enough tourists in town to put together a full busload it seems. One tour agency did suggest that they could do a private tour which included Krka and a visit to Šibenik (the nearest town) in the same tour. We knew that we could get a better deal for our money if we traveled on our own rather than pay for a private tour, so I checked out some of our options.
After a bit of searching and some discussion, we decided to make a weekend of it, spend Saturday in Šibenik and Sunday at Krka. We reserved a rental car and booked a hotel for Saturday night. This only cost us slightly more than a private tour, but we got an extra day out of it.
Šibenik is the oldest Croatian town on the Adriatic coast and is the third largest in this historic section of Dalmatia (according to Wikipedia). There are several fortresses, a UNESCO cathedral, and many other interesting sights to see. The old-town area of the city was not very active since we visited in mid-November, but this made for a very interesting experience of walking through nearly empty marble-paved streets and squares.
We arrived in the late morning, grabbed a map from the tourist information office, and had coffees at the restaurant in the village square. This area is relatively small, but it soon filled with life as more people came out for coffee, children ran and played, and dogs were walked. The main square is between the town hall and St. James Cathedral and is the busiest area we saw.
We weren’t permitted to take photographs inside the Cathedral, but they were in the middle of a restoration project that had a third of the space closed off with scaffolding. This 15th century cathedral I found to be much more impressive on the outside than in, but perhaps it will have an entirely new character once the restoration is complete. The stonework on the exterior, especially around the doorways is particularly fantastic. The dome was heavily damaged during the war in the early 1990s, but has been rebuilt.
We also visited St. Michael Fortress and Barone Fortress, two of at least three fortresses within a short walk of the center of town. St. Michael is the oldest fortress and now functions as a tourist destination with some historical displays, but the main section has been converted into a performance venue. I can imagine a summer evening concert here would be outstanding. The view from the audience not only looks onto the stage, but also out to the Adriatic and the sunset.
The two other nearby fortresses (Barone and St. John) were both built initially by the townspeople under threat of Ottoman attack. The people came together and constructed both within a span of only two months – apparently tired of waiting for Venice (who then ruled the area) to make a decision and send funds to handle the work.
Our ticket into St. Michael also included admission to Barone, so we hiked up the hill to see this one as well. It has undergone a recent renovation and has updated visitor amenities. There isn’t a whole lot to see here (except a great view), but the tourists do have the option of an “augmented reality” experience. Side note: I hate the term “augmented reality”. Come on, how can anything be more real than reality? This feature was stored away for the winter, so we didn’t even have a choice this time around. We had to settle for good old-fashioned reading and using our imaginations. I’m glad we still retain that capability. 😊
We spent the night at Heritage Hotel Life Palace, a boutique hotel inside a 15th century palace. The rooms here were very comfortable and decorated in a style similar to what you might have found around that time. The location was perfect, facing a small plaza not far from the main square.
This town was really interesting and I’m glad we made the time to see it. I imagine there is more going on during the summer months, and think that would be a better time to visit. Our next post will feature a Sunday trip to Krka National Park.
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