950th Anniversary of the town of Šibenik

According to all until today known results of historical research, it is not possible to precisely determine the time when the town came into existence, but precisely known is the date of the first mention of its name - since there is evidence about it in the form of preserved historical document. In the deed of donation of the Croatian King Petar Krešmir IV, at its beginning, it is explicitly written „In the year 1066 of the embodiment of our Lord Jesus Christ“ and at the end of the same document „On the date of birth of Jesus Christ in Šibenik…“ which undoubtedly testify that the document was issued on Christmas 1066. Šibenik surely existed also before year 1066 - when the Croatian King Petar Krešimir IV actually made this announcement, but there is no evidence about it in historical sources so that it cannot be precisely and scientifically determined how much earlier Šibenik existed before the date of this first preserved monument in writing. And, it is just due to this deed of donation that Šibenik is rightly considered to be the town of Krešimir. Besides Petar Krešimir IV there is another direct national link which gives Šibenik a special place in Croatian self-determination. Šibenik was actually erected and built through centuries by Croats. Šibenik has got no precedent antique settlements like neighbouring towns on Croatian coastline which were later inhabited by Croats. In this sense Šibenik possesses Croatian authenticity and is the oldest town in the eastern Adriatic originally built by Croats, which is the reason why Šibenik is often accented as the oldest originally Croatian town. From its coming into existence in the town of Krešimir a series of important citizens of Šibenik were born, whose work and importance surpassed the borders of the native land and Croatian territory and with its architectural and urbanistic shaping of the historical city nucleus Šibenik takes recognisable place in Croatian and European architecture. The Cathedral of St. James - in which symbolically the physical and spiritual identity of Šibenik merge, has been entered into the UNESCO's registry of world heritage. Due to the fact that the date of the oldest preserved document which mentions the name of the town in writing is known, the inhabitants of Šibenik have the privilege to give it the anniversary character. Thus, there was a great celebration of the 900th anniversary of the town in 1966 and in 2016 we mark the 950th anniversary of the first mention of the town.

Dr.sc. Ivica Poljičak