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Find out more about beautiful Croatian town Šibenik. Here is a list of the most interesting facts about our favorite historic destination in Croatia!
1.) Šibenik was mentioned for the first time under its present name on December 25, 1066, in a Charter of the Croatian King Petar Krešimir IV and, for a period of time, it was a seat of this Croatian King. For that reason, Šibenik is also called “Krešimirov grad” (Krešimir’s city). This Christmas Šibenik celebrated 952 years since its foundation.
2.) Krešimir’s city is the first city in the world to receive public lighting in AC power. The streets of Šibenik were illuminated for the first time on August 28, 1895.
3.) The hydroelectric power plant at Skradinski buk on the Krka River was in operation in 1895 only two days after the launch of the hydroelectric power plant on Niagara waterfalls. It is considered to be the first open hydroelectric power plant in Europe to supply this jewel of the Adriatic with electricity.
4.) The Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik, created by Juraj Dalmatinac, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2000.
5.) Šibenik was the first Croatian town to coin its own money – Šibenik Bagatin. It was in use for more than two centuries at the time of the Venetian Republic. Today, the Šibenik Bagatin is only printed as a souvenir. Among the most wanted is a 50 Bagatin banknote that is decorated with the figure of Dražen Petrović. He was one of the biggest Croatian and world basketball players and was ranked among the top 50 contributing Euroliga players. He is considered one of the greatest Croatian athletes of all time and the leader of a European basketball winner in the NBA.
6.) Šibenik was the most densely populated Dalmatian town until the deadly wave of the plague in 1649 when it decreased by 80 percent of inhabitants of the Krešimir city.
7.) The word Šibenik in the Ukrainian language denotes a devilish boy.
