County | Split-Dalmatia County |
Latitude | 43.55°N |
Longitude | 16.24°E |
Mayor | Ivan Ćorić (HDZ) |
Surface (km²) | 237,73 |
Population (2001) |
2,705 (municipality) |
Time zone (UTC) | UTC+1 Central European Time |
43°55′N 16°24′E / 43.917°N 16.400°E
Vrlika is a small town in inland Dalmatia, Croatia. The closest larger towns are Sinj, Knin, and Drniš.
History
Known history of Vrlika begins in the 7th century when the Croats moved there and formed a village on the spring of the river Cetina, in a field below the mountain Dinara.[1]
Vrlika was first mentioned by written data in the year of 1069, as a center of "Cetinske županije" - old Croatian county which coverage towns: Glavaš, Prozor, Sinj, Trilj, Stolac, Gradac, Nutjak, Tugare and Poljičku župu.
In the 9th century probably during the time of Duke Branimir of Dalmatian Croatia, the old Croatian Catholic Church of Our Holy Redeemer "Crkva Sv. Spasa" with the oldest standing belfry was built in Vrlika. Church was built by old Croatian "cetinski župan Gastika" in memory of his mother and his sons. There are over 1,026 old croatian[2] graves around the church of great archeological interest.[3] Culture of that time was under the influence of the Frankish Empire, which is noticed in the archeological findings from the period.
During the medieval period Vrlika, as with the rest of the Balkans experienced the invasion and subsequent occupation by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. During the Ottoman rule the local population of Vrlika was forced to convert to Islam or forced to leave. Many of the original settlers from Vrlika left for the island Olib in the Adriatic sea off the Croatian coast.
From 1805-1813, Vrlika was under French administration.
During the Croatian War of Independence, Vrlika was attacked by rebel Serb forces, and the entire population fled.[4] The people finally returned after Operation Storm freed the city, and began to repair the damages of the war.
Population
Vrlika town has a population of 959, while the municipality has a total of 2705, with Croats making up 92%, Serbs 4%, and others 4% (2001).
Notbale people
- Filip Grabovac - Franciscan priest, professor and benefactor, patriot, poet and prose writter.
- Milan Begović - writer
Surrounding Villages in the municipality
Garjak / Ježević / Koljane / Kosore / Maovice / Otišić / Podosoje / Vinalić