The Dalmatian Hinterland ( hr, Dalmatinska zagora; it, La Morlacca or ) is the southern inland

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...

in the historical

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 = , capit ...

n region of

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. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stre ...

. The name ''zagora'' means "beyond (the) hills", which is a reference to the fact that it is the part of

that is not coastal and the existence of the

concordant coastline In coastal geography, a concordant, longitudinal, or Pacific type coastline occurs where beds, or layers, of differing rock types are folded into ridges that run parallel to the coast. The outer hard rock (for example, granite) provides a prote ...

where hills run parallel to the coast.

Geography

Dalmatian Zagora, in the strict sense, spans from the hinterland east of

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

to the border with

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

and continues south to

Vrgorac Vrgorac (, it, Vergoraz) is a town in Croatia in the Split-Dalmatia County. Demographics The total population of Vrgorac is 6,572 (census 2011), in the following settlements: * Banja, population 202 * Dragljane, population 52 * Draževiti� ...

, just north of the

Neum Neum ( cyrl, Неум, ) is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the only town to be situated along the Bosnia and Herzegovina's coastline, ...

corridor. Its borders are present in two counties: Split-Dalmatia and Šibenik-Knin. The terrain in Zagora is fairly rugged: in the region immediately bordering the coastline, it is mostly flat but dry, mainly covered with ''makija'' (maquis, macchia). More inland, greener pastures can be seen, as the climate and elevations change.

Karst topography Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ...

dominates the landscape. The land is interspersed with river canyons, of Krka,

Čikola Čikola ( it, link=no, Cigola) is a river of 47.8 km in length, located in Dalmatia, southern Croatia. Description Čikola river's springs is near the village Čavoglave, flows through the city of Drniš and then flows near village of M ...

Cetina Cetina () is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . From its source, Cetina descends from an elevation of above sea level to the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia.Naklada Naprijed ...

and others. One national park is located in Zagora, the

Krka National Park Krka National Park ( hr, Nacionalni park Krka) is one of the Croatian national parks, named after the river Krka (ancient Greek: ''Kyrikos'') that it encloses. It is located along the middle-lower course of the Krka River in central Dalmatia, i ...

. The aforementioned geographical and climate conditions influenced the life patterns of the historically important

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' ' herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations ...

population: in the wintertime, they were moving their numerous flocks from the mountains to the coast. Historic population of Zagora has included the

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...

and the

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easte ...

Settlements

The area has had diminishing human settlement in the last few centuries, although a lot of smaller and larger villages remain scattered all over Zagora. The larger towns include

Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road route ...

Drniš Drniš is a town in Croatia, located in inland Dalmatia, about halfway between Šibenik and Knin. History The name Drniš was mentioned for the first time in a contract dated March 8, 1494. However, there are traces of older Middle Ages' fortr ...

Vrlika Vrlika is a small town in inland Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The closest large towns are Sinj, Knin, and Drniš. Vrlika was given the status of town in 1997. Vrlika is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the ...

Sinj Sinj (; it, Signo; german: Zein) is a town in the continental part of Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The town itself has a population of 11,478 and the population of the administrative municipality, which includes surrounding villages, is 24, ...

Trilj Trilj (, it, Treglia, la, Pons Tiluri) is a municipality and town in inland Dalmatia, Croatia. It is located northeast of Split. Population The total population of the municipality is 9,109, with 2,076 in Trilj itself and the rest in small vi ...

and

Imotski Imotski (; it, Imoschi; lat, Emotha, later ''Imota'') is a small town on the northern side of the Biokovo massif in the Dalmatian Hinterland of southern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Imotski, like the surrounding inland ...

. Villages include Biskupija, Kistanje, Kijevo,

Unešić Unešić is a municipality in Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. There are 1,686 inhabitants, with 99.70% declaring themselves Croats. Sports Local football club NK Zagora Unešić Nogometni klub Zagora Unešić ( en, Football Club Zagora Uneš ...

Oklaj Oklaj is a village in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia. It is located in inland of the Dalmatia Adriatic coastline, about 15 km south of Knin and 14 km northwest of Drniš Drniš is a town in Croatia, located in inland Dalmatia, ab ...

, Ružić, Aržano, Dicmo,

Muć Muć is a village and a municipality in Croatia. It is part of the Split-Dalmatia County, located in the Zagora region near Sinj Sinj (; it, Signo; german: Zein) is a town in the continental part of Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The town i ...

, Cista Provo, Prgomet, Hrvace, Lovreć, Šestanovac, Zmijavci, etc.

Infrastructure

Two major roads intersect Zagora – the D1 state road which comes from

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

, crosses from

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by ...

through Knin and Sinj, down to

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, entertain ...

, and the recently built A1 highway, which meanders near

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

and Benkovac, passing throughout Zagora, via the Dugopolje exit (to Split) and on to

Ploče Ploče (; it, Porto Tolero) is a town and seaport in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. Geography Ploče is located on the Adriatic coast in Dalmatia just north of the Neretva Delta and is the natural seaside endpoint of most north-sout ...

. The railway links Zagreb with

, from Knin to Zadar, from Knin to Perković, where the line splits to Šibenik or to Split.

Sources

Dalmatinska zagora
*

External links

Dalmatinska Zagora
(archived)
Dalmatinska zagora – nepoznata zemlja
(archived) {{Authority control Historical regions in Croatia Geography of Split-Dalmatia County Geography of Šibenik-Knin County Dalmatia

Geography

Settlements

Infrastructure

See also

Sources

External links