|
Split is the largest city on the Croatian coast. The city itself, without surrounding settlements with which it has almost merged into an undivided whole, has a population of about 225,000. The ruins of ancient Salona, the former metropolis of the Great Roman province of Dalmatia, are in the vicinity of Split. The Roman emperor Diocletian, of Dalmatian origin, built a luxurious palace near Salona where he retired in 305 AD. Split's growth became particularly rapid in the 7th century, when the inhabitants of the destroyed Greek and Roman metropolis Salonae (present-day Solin) took refuge within its walls.
Diocletian’s Palace later became the nucleus of medieval Split and is now the heart of contemporary Split. The well-preserved Palace has been listed in the UNESCO’s register of the world’s cultural heritage. During these 1700 years, Split has played an important role in Croatian history. Today, Split is the centre of cultural and scientific life, with many institutions, museums, galleries and theatres. One such museum with a long tradition is the Archaeological Museum which organized the First World Congress of Early Christian Archaeology in 1894.
Many of Split's historical and cultural buildings can be found within the walls of Diocletian's Palace. In addition, numerous museums, the National Theatre, and old churches and other archeological sites in the Split region make it an important cultural attraction.
The Croatian National Theatre of Split was built in 1893. Split’s renowned Summer Festival presents operas, dramas and musical recitals which are held in the historic downtown as well as in the adjacent ruins of Salona and other attractive locations in the surroundings. Being a scientific centre of the region, scientific institutions of Split have had remarkable achievements in many fields including the protection and study of cultural and natural heritage, oceanography, fishery, Adriatic agricultural cultures, and a number of others.
Present-day Split is not only noted as a commercial and maritime centre with industry and tourism but is also remembered for having hosted popular and very well organized sports events, most notably the Mediterranean Games and the European Athletic Championship. The climate in the region of Dalmatia is Mediterranean, with dry but not too hot summers followed by smooth and sunny autumns and relatively rainy but mild winter months.
Split has good connections to the hinterland by very frequent coach lines and railway, and through its busy international airport it is excellently linked with all the major centres internationally. The passenger port of Split is a very vibrant place, a point from which to embark for Dalmatian islands and further to Italian and other Mediterranean ports. These days it has become an attractive port of call for a number of large, white, luxury cruise ships.
Split has always been renown as a lively and dynamic Mediterranean town; it is now becoming a cosmopolitan city that attracts visitors from all over the world. It is also the jumping-off point for exploration of the coast and islands of the beautiful Croatian Adriatic.
|
