Sinj (; it, Signo; german: Zein) is a town in the continental part of

Split-Dalmatia County Split-Dalmatia County ( hr, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija ) is a central-southern Dalmatian county in Croatia. The administrative center is Split. The population of the county is 455,242 (2011). The land area is 14.106,40 km2. Split-Dalm ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

. The town itself has a population of 11,478 and the population of the administrative municipality, which includes surrounding villages, is 24,826 (2011).

Geography

Sinj is located in the heart of the Dalmatian hinterland, the area known as ''Cetinska krajina'', a group of settlements situated on a fertile karstic field of

Sinjsko polje Sinjsko Polje () is a polje (karstic field) in the inner Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. ...

through which the river Cetina passes. Sinj lies between four mountains:

Svilaja Svilaja is a mountain range in Croatia, in the Dalmatian Hinterland. It is part of the Dinaric Alps and stretches from the town of Sinj northwest to the Petrovo field, approximately 30 km in length. The highest peak is Svilaja or Bat at 1 ...

Dinara Dinara is a long mountain range in the Dinaric Alps, located on the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. It has four major mountains or peaks, from north-west to south-east: * Ilica or Ujilica (1654 m) * Sinjal or Dinara (1831 m), ...

, Kamešnica and Visoka. Those mountains give Sinj its specific submediterranean climate (hotter summers and colder winters).

History

Sinj was seized by the Turks in 1524 who maintained control until 1686, when it was taken into possession by the Venetians. The town grew around an ancient fortress held by the

Ottomans 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, ...

from 16th until the end of 17th century, and the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monastery with the church of

Our Lady of Sinj Our Lady of Sinj ( hr, Gospa sinjska) is the title given to a painting venerated as miraculous of Mary, mother of Jesus. The sanctuary in Sinj where the painting is located is a pilgrimage site. The painting It may have been created by an unknown ...

(), a place of pilgrimage. The last Turkish siege in 1715, during the Second Morean War, was repelled. After the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

in 1815 until 1918, the town (bilingual name ''SINJ - SIGN'') was part of the

Austrian monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

(Austria side after the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

), head of the district of the same name, one of the 13 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in the

Kingdom of Dalmatia The Kingdom of Dalmatia ( hr, Kraljevina Dalmacija; german: Königreich Dalmatien; it, Regno di Dalmazia) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entire ...

.Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890, Wilhelm KLEIN, 1967 The Italian name alone was used before 1867.

Demographics

Tourism

Sinj and Cetinska Krajina represent an interesting tourist area, and the major attraction is certainly the traditional Tilters Tournament of Sinj (

Sinjska alka The Sinjska alka () is an equestrian competition held in the Croatian town of Sinj every first Sunday in August since 1715. It commemorates a Croatian– Venetian victory in the Ottoman–Venetian war on August 14, 1715 in which the local Christ ...

). It takes place every year on the first Sunday in August to commemorate the victory over the Turkish army in 1715. The tilters, dressed in the traditional costumes, ride on horseback in full gallop, trying to thrust a small ring (alka), hanging from a wire, with a lance. The tilter who scores the highest number of points (punat) is declared the victor. The Museum of the Cetinska Krajina Region is in Sinj.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Sinj is twinned with:

Notable natives and residents

Vladimir Beara Vladimir Beara (; 26 August 1928 – 11 August 2014) was a Yugoslav football goalkeeper and manager. He played the vast majority of his professional club career for Hajduk Split and Red Star Belgrade in the Yugoslav Federal League and for the Yu ...

, footballer * Stipe Breko, singer * Ivica Buljan, theatre director * Ivan Klapez, sculptor * Leo Lemešić, footballer * Vedran Runje, footballer *

Ante Vukušić Ante Vukušić (; born 4 June 1991) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serbian SuperLiga club Kolubara. Club career Vukušić started his career playing at youth level for his hometown club Junak Sinj. He joined H ...

, footballer *

Mateo Barać Mateo Barać (; born 20 July 1994) is a Croatian football defender. He plays for Krylia Sovetov Samara in the Russian Premier League. Club career Early career Born and raised in Sinj, Barać started his youth career at the local Junak Sinj ...

, footballer

References

External links

Sinj Airport

Sinj Tourist Board

First news portal of Sinj town

Sinj News and Events

Virtual reality
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Croatia Populated places in Split-Dalmatia County Kingdom of Dalmatia