Splitska is an ancient village on the island of

Brač Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of , making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. It is separated from the mainland by the Brač Channel, which is wide. The island's talle ...

in Croatia. The population is 368 (census 2011). The village got its name from a derivative of

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

(the second largest city in Croatia with over 200,000 inhabitants). The village name was first mentioned in the year 1577 AD, when Mihovil Cerinić (Cerineo) from

Škrip Škrip is a village in Croatia. It is the oldest settlement on the island Brač Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of , making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. It is s ...

built a small

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the village. Splitska is approximately six km distant from the main town on Brač called

Supetar Supetar (, it, San Pietro della Brazza) is a town on the northern side of the Dalmatian island of Brač, in the Split-Dalmatia County, in Croatia. It became the island's official centre in 1827. The Town of Supetar includes Supetar itself and th ...

and 25 km from

Brač airport Brač Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Brač; ) is an airport on the Croatian island of Brač, close to the town of Bol, after which it is sometimes also named informally. It is one of three island airports in the country (the other two being Krk – ...

. It is easily accessible by car and it is connected daily with Supetar by bus. In summer there's a possibility of transport by small ship which sails from Split directly to Splitska. The village has numerous amenities for holidays including restaurants, shops, tennis courts, and a post office.

History

The village was settled by

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

to mine stones which were used to construct the

Diocletian Palace Diocletian's Palace ( hr, Dioklecijanova palača, ) is an ancient palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, which today forms about half the old town of Split, Croatia. While it is referred to as a "pala ...

and many other buildings throughout Europe. The initial

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

is located only a few hundred meters from the main road which passes Splitska. The first inhabitants in Splitska came from Škrip (a village above Splitska). When they settled in Splitska they built the church of St. Mary ( in Croatian: sveta Marija). In the 13th century the village was abandoned because the inhabitants were threatened by

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s from

Omiš Omiš (, Latin and it, Almissa) is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and is a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is situated approximately south-east of Croatia's second largest city, Split. Its location is wh ...

. This danger ceased in the year 1444, which led the village to be resettled. In 1577 Mihovil Cerinić, a

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

n nobleman from the village of Škrip, erected a citadel in the centre of Splitska. His intent had been to use it as a fortress against the impending waves of

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

that swept across Brač in that era. This castle became the village's first true

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

References

Line notes

* C.Michael Hogan
"Diocletian's Palace", The Megalithic Portal, Andy Burnham ed., Oct. 6, 2007

External links

{{coord, 43, 23, N, 16, 36, E, display=title, region:HR_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Split-Dalmatia County Brač