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Sebenico

One prominent item on the program of the big fleet party was the conversion into a first-class naval station of Sebenico, a fair harbor on the Dalmatian littoral. It was announced in March 1910 that a new base for ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy was being prepared at Sebenico, on the Dalmatian coast, 70 miles south-east of Trieste. The place was visited by Admiral Montecuccoli, who with his staff selected suitable sites for the fortifications, and a wireless telegraphic station was erected. As of 1910 The principal Government Dockyard of Austria-Hungary was situated at Pola. At Trieste there were two building slips at the yard of the Stabilimento Tecnico which had been made capable of receiving Dreadnoughts; and two more slips had been similarly lengthened at the establishment of the Danubius Shipbuilding Co., of Fiume.

In the 1911 Naval Estimate provision was made for the extension of the arsenal at Pola and the naval base at Sebenico, about half-way down the Dalmatian coast, which had a good natural harbor, was the headquarters of a rear-admiral with a command extending from Zara to Cattaro, and possessed a torpedo station, though, it is not, like Pola, a naval base in which the ordinary necessaries for a modern fleet are to be found, and it was proposed to make it such a base in order to provide for a partial decentralisation of the Fleet, the necessity for which was alleged to have been shown by the recent crisis in the Balkans.

Sebenico (Serbo-Croatian, Sibenik) port in Croatia. It lies along the estuary of the Krka River formed as the latter flows into the Adriatic Sea. Sebenico lies within an irregular gulf, at the mouth of the Kerlca, the entrance to which is by a narrow winding channel. The harbour is secure and commodious. The surrounding country is stony and barren; but from the irregular and varied outline of the mountains and shore it would be beautiful if it did not lack the essential ornament of wood.

Linked by a rail line to Zagreb, Sibenik is a coastal shipping station, with major exports of bauxite, timber, building stone, wines, and liqueurs. There was a shipyard, a ferrous-alloy plant, and an aluminum plant (at Lozovac). Sebenico was an extremely picturesque walled town, with gates which were closed from sunset to sunrise as recently as 1910. It is seated on an inland firth or strait, connected with the sea by a narrow channel, and defended by a Venetian fort, designed by Sanmicheli. It is commanded by three castles placed one above the other on the rocky eminence which is part of the range of Monte Tartari. The highest, S. Giovanni, is still in repair ; the two lower dismantled - Fort Barone (named from Baron Degeufeld, who defended it against the Turks in 1048), and Santa Anna - the view from the last gave an excellent idea of Dalmatian scenery, with its deep bays and numerous is- ands. The principal object of interest was the Duomo, constructed entirely of stone. It was begun by Antonio di Pieiro Pnoln in 14'iO, and carried on by Giorgio Orsini in 1441.

This episcopal city on the Dalmatian coast, was the center of an administrative district in Dalmatia, Austria; at the end of a branch railway from Knin. The population in 1900 of the city and commune was 24,751. Sebenico is built on a hill overlooking the river Kerka, which here forms a broad basin, connected by a winding channel with the Adriatic Sea, 3 m. S.W. The city was walled, and guarded on the seaward side by the 16thcentury castle of St Anna and two dismantled forts. Venetian influence was everywhere manifest; the Lion of St Mark is carved over the main gateway and on many public buildings; and among the narrow and steep lanes of the city there are numerous examples of Venetian Gothic or early Renaissance architecture.

Sebenico had been the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop since 1298. It has also an orthodox bishop. The Roman Catholics, who constitute the majority of citizens, possess a lofty and beautiful cruciform cathedral, built entirely of stone and metal. Probably no other church of equal size in Europe is similarly constructed. Even the waggon vaults over the nave, choir and transepts are of stone unprotected by lead or tiles. The older part of the cathedral, dating from 1430 to 1441, and including the fine north doorway, is Italian Gothic. Giorgio Orsini of Zara, who had studied architecture in Venice and been strongly influenced by the Italian Renascence, carried on the work of construction until his death in 1475. It was finished early in the 16th century; and thus the cathedral belongs to two distinct periods and represents two distinct styles.

By 1910 Sebenico was lighted by electric light; the power being supplied by the celebrated falls of the Kerka, near Scardona, on the north. Sebenico was a steamship station, with an excellent harbor. Wine, oil, corn and honey are produced in the neighbourhood; many of the inhabitants are fishermen and seamen. The Latin name of Sicum is adopted in public inscriptions; but the city cannot be identified with the Roman colony of Sicum, which was probably situated farther south. Sebenico first became prominent in the 12th century as a favorite residence of the Croatian kings. From 1358 to 1412 it was ruled by Hungary; it subsequently formed part of the Venetian dominions. In 1647 it was unsuccessfully besieged by the Turks.