Sightseeing stop in Šibenik (Sibenik): discover beautiful places in Croatia

Šibenik (Sibenik) highlight

cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

We at Monterrasol Transfers specialize in private car transfers. Together with the transfer itself, we propose that you visit some beautiful places along the transfer route. We call such places optional sightseeing stops (short excursions).

One of the places we selected to propose as a sightseeing stop is a beautiful Šibenik (Sibenik) in Croatia. Sightseeing stops are a perfect easy opportunity to see new places during your transfer across Croatia, especially during long distance transfers. Take it as a great option to get in touch with local culture and history. It's good to combine transportation and sightseeing together!

Sibenik, known in Italy as Sebenico, is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Sibenik has four fortresses and historic center with the Cathedral of St James. The Cathedral and St. Nicholas fortress are included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site list. Roughly 18 kilometres north of the city is the Krka National Park, similar to the Plitvice Lakes National Park, known for its many waterfalls, flora, fauna, and historical and archaeological remains. The Kornati archipelago, west of Sibenik, consists of 150 islands in a sea area of about 320 km2, making it the densest archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea.

Last reviewed: 8 August 2023

Šibenik (Sibenik) description

Unlike other cities along the Adriatic coast, which were established by Greeks, Illyrians and Romans, Sibenik was founded by Croats. Excavations of the fortress of St. Michael have since proven that the place was inhabited long before the actual arrival of the Croats. It was mentioned for the first time under its present name in 1066 in a Charter of the Croatian King Petar Kresimir IV and, for a period of time, it was a seat of this Croatian King. For that reason, Sibenik is also called "Kresimirov grad" (Kresimir's city).

Between the 11th and 12th centuries, Sibenik was tossed back and forth among Venice, Byzantium, and Hungary. It was conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1116, who held it until 1124, when they briefly lost it to the Byzantine Empire, and then held it again until 1133 when it was retaken by the Kingdom of Hungary. It would change hands among the aforementioned states several more times until 1180.

The city was given the status of a town in 1167 from Stephen III of Hungary.

Sibenik, like the rest of Dalmatia, initially resisted the Venetian Republic, but it was taken over after a three-year war in 1412. Under Venetian rule, Sibenik became in 1412 the seat of the main customs office and the seat of the salt consumers office with a monopoly on the salt trade in Chioggia and on the whole Adriatic Sea.

The Ottoman Empire started to threaten Sibenik as part of their struggle against Venice, at the end of the 15th century, but they never succeeded in conquering it. In the 16th century, St. Nicholas fortress was built and during the 17th century its fortifications were improved again by the fortresses of St. John (Tanaja) and Subicevac (Barone).

The fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797 brought Sibenik under the authority of the Habsburg Monarchy. After the Congress of Vienna until 1918, the town was (again) part of the Austrian monarchy.

On 28 August 1895, Sibenik became the world's first city with electrical-powered street lights.

Currently Sibenik has four fortresses, each of which has views of the city, sea and nearby islands. The fortresses are now tourist sightseeing destinations.

One, St. Nicholas fortress, is located on the island near by Sibenik and is included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site list as part of Venetian Works of Defence between 15th and 17th centuries in 2017. Another three fortresses are located directly in the city: St. Michael's Fortress, St. John Fortress and Barone Fortress.

The central church in Sibenik, the Sibenik Cathedral of St James, is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Several successive architects built it completely in stone between 1431 and 1536, both in Gothic and in Renaissance style.

The Cathedral of St. James, Croatian call it Katedrala sv. Jakova, is a triple-nave catholic basilica with three apses and a dome (32 m high inside). It is often known as "St. Jacob's", because Croatian, like many other languages, uses the same name for both "James" and "Jacob". It is dedicated to Saint James the Greater. The Cathedral is the episcopal seat of the Sibenik diocese. It is also the most important architectural monument of the Renaissance in the entire country. Since 2000, the cathedral has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The building of the church was initiated in 1402, though plans on its construction had already begun in 1298, when Sibenik became a municipality. The actual work to transform the older Romanesque cathedral began in 1431. Built entirely of stone (limestone from a nearby stone quarry and marble from the island of Brac), it was completed in three phases, from 1433 to 1441, when the Grand City Council entrusted the work to local and Italian masters.

The Cathedral combined several artistic elements in the ground plan: the Lion Gate was inspired by the abbey of San Leonardo di Siponto, the central nave by Trogir cathedral, an eagle over the main entrance as the John the Evangelist's symbol, the San Marco cathedral in Venice as one side nave and the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople as the other side nave.

The motif of the northern portal, called the Lion Gate, are Adam and Eve standing on two lions, which is also seen at the Trogir Cathedral, but here Adam and Eve are on columns over the lions. The statue of Eve draws the attention of onlookers as she has a belly button, while, according to the Bible, she was conceived from a rib of Adam. The bronze doors were made in 1967 by the Sibenik sculptor Grga Antunac. The coats of arms of two bishops and of the procurator of then-church of St. Saviour in Sibenik were placed over the Lion Gate.

Although the dome of Sibenik Cathedral was built after the dome in Florence, Niccolo di Giovanni Fiorentino used an octagonal drum in its construction, before Bramante and Michelangelo, in its original function as the transition from the square base to the circular dome. The execution of the cupola is considered one of the best achievements of Renaissance architecture.

The cathedral officially became consecrated in 1555 after a multitude of Venetian and local craftsmen had worked on it, in Gothic style.

Since the interior of Sibenik cathedral was extensively 3D recorded for documentation and restoration purposes, its 3D model is often used for graphic and especially video modelling purposes.

The Cathedral served as a backdrop for the Iron Bank in the ninth episode of the fifth season of Game of Thrones. Šibenik portrayed Braavos, the city where the Iron Bank is located.

We know good things to see in Croatia. We know the roads, well-known tourist attractions like UNESCO sites, and off-the-beaten-path places.

If you would like to learn more about Croatia and explore it by visiting different attractions, come with us for a private tour. We can travel all across Croatia and we will show you all the important tourist attractions together with the hidden gems of this beautiful country. Feel free to contact us!

We have developed numerous itineraries for private car tours in Croatia as well as in neighboring countries, including tours passing through several countries as one journey. Solo private tours and tours for Seniors are available also.

Transfers to Šibenik (Sibenik)

Currently we know prices for these car transfers to Šibenik (Sibenik):

Private transfers from Croatia

• private car transfer Dubrovnik to Sibenik (Šibenik)

Private transfers from Montenegro

• private car transfer Portonovi to Sibenik (Šibenik)

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