Split
From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.
- See stock split for the investing term.
Split (Italian: Spalato) is the largest and most important city in Dalmatia, the administrative center of the Split-Dalmatia county. It is situated on a small peninsula on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, in the foothills of Kozjak and Mosor mountains. With a population of 188,694 (2001) it is the second largest city in Croatia.
Split's economy relies on its tourism, fishing, wine production and the paper, concrete, olive and chemical industries. It is also an important traffic point for Dalmatia: most of the middle Dalmatian islands are only reachable through Split's harbour (usually with Jadrolinija ferries). This includes both the closer islands of Brač, Hvar and Šolta, but also Vis and Lastovo which are more distant. The Split airport in Divulje is often the first stop for most of the tourists to this region.
History
Although history of Split is usually tied to the building of Diocletian's Palace, there is evidence that this area was inhabited as a Greek colony, even earlier. Dioclatian was a Roman emperor who ruled between 284 and 305AD and was known for his reforms and persecution of Christians. He ordered the work on the palace to began in 293 AD in readiness for his retirement from politics in 305. The palace faces the sea on its south side and its walls are 570 to 700 feet long and 50 to 70 feet high, and it incloses an area of 9½ acres.
This massive structure was long deserted when the first citizens of Split settled inside its walls. In 639 the interior was converted into a town by the citizens of Salona who escaped the destruction of their town by the Avars. 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, and full of shops, markets, squares, and even a Christian cathedral (a mausoleum in Diocletian's time) inserted in the corridors and floors of the former palace.
Throughout its history Split was ruled by Rome, the Byzantine Empire, and intermintently by Croatian and Hungarian nobility, until Venice took control from 1420 until it fell to Austria-Hungary in 1797. During this time, Split developed as an important port city for commerce, and culture flourished as well, with some of the earliest Croatian writers, such as Marko Marulic who wrote a classic of Croatian literature, the famous epic poem, Judita.
Upon the end of WWI and the fall of Austria-Hungary, the province Dalmatia (along with Split) became a part of The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which then went on to become Yugoslavia. During WWII Dalmatia and Split were occupied, and part of the port facilities as well as the palace were bombed. After WWII Split continued growing and developing as an important commercial and cultural center. Croatia became independent in 1991, and Split is now it's second largest city.
Split is sometimes credited as Dalmatia's capital, but there's no such governmental unit in Dalmatia today, and the traditional capital is actually the city of Zadar.
Sport
Split's most famous resident is the former tennis star Goran Ivanišević. Another tennis rising star is "Little Goran", Mario Ančić, also from Split. The local football team is Hajduk Split. Basketball is also popular, with notable players such as Toni Kukoč.
The bigest sports events to be held in Split were the Mediterranean Games in 1979 and the European Athletics Championships in 1990.
Picigin is a local sport found on several of the city beaches (Bačvice etc). It is played in shallow water with a small ball.
External link
de:Split eo:Split fr:Split hr:Split it:Spalato pl:Split ro:Split sv:Split, Kroatien
