The town of Senj - position, history & culture    

POSITION

The coastline of the Senj area is 76 km long, whereas the town is located between the sea, the Kapela mountainside and Velebit. The territory of Senj spreads over 60 km of the Nothern Adriatic coast with plenty of coves and intact beaches and over 40 km of Velebit, the highest and the most beautiful Croatian mountain.

The town of Senj
Senj is 658 km2 big with a population of 8.500, whereas only 6.000 live in the town of Senj.
By sea, Senj is connected with cities and countries in the Mediterranean. By road, it is connected with the hinterlend over the notch Vratnik (700m over the sea), with the Vinodol valley, Rijeka and its hinterland in the west and Zadar, Split and Dalmatia in the south.
The town of Senj is the oldest town in the Norhtern Adriatic, known for its eventful history.

HISTORY

Besides Dubrovnik, there is no other Croatian town with such history, cultural heritage and tradition like Senj. Senj is interesting and known for its famous history, ancient monuments, strong cultural influence and distinctive lifestyle. Throughout the history of Senj, many battles were fought, great literature was written and trade flourished.
The town's museums will let you in on all the secrets of Senj's history, from the Stone Age to the Civil War. The most famous of Senj's historical monuments is the Fortress Nehaj , built in the 16th century.

Fortress Nehaj



The Beginnings
Senj is an old settlement founded more than 3000 years ago on the hill Kuk, east of the present-day Senj. Through the years, the settlers moved nearer to the sea to found a new settlement, which was first mentioned by the Greek sailor Pseudoskilaks under a name of Attienites. By the mid-2nd century the Romans came and gradually took over the city which was then named Senia.

A 3rd century head       

The Roman Age
The name of Senia often denotes struggle for freedom in the world history.
The Romans easily attacked the Japods and other Illyrian tribes from Senia. They also built the town, especially in the period from the mid-1st century B.C. until the 4th century. The following objects were built in this period: the Town hall, the aqueduct, thermes, temples (of Diana, Magna Mater, Kibela and Liberus), and all this can be traced due to the many archeological findings of stone monuments, sculptures of Gods and Godesses, pieces of architectural works and tomb stones.

The Barbarians
During the 5th, 6th and 7th century, at the time of Migration, many Barbarian tribes from the East raided the town and ended its golden age. Arceological reasearch shows that much of the town was burned and torn down by one of these Barbarians groups. It was probably the West Ghots, who lived here in the first half of the 5th century. The final destruction was done by the Avaris and the Slavs at the beginning of the 7th century.

The Croatian Arrival
In the Middle Ages, the Croats settled down and founded a new town on the Antique ruins and named it Senj. We know very little about this period of history. Senj lost its importance since the centre of the Medieval Croatian state was moved to the South – to present-day Dalmatia. Senj can not be found in any written documents until the 12th century. Once again, it gains importance due to the geopolitical changes when the political centre moved North.
The diocese was established in 1169, which clearly demonstrates the importance of the town.
From 1184 until the end of the 13th century, Senj belongs to the Templares, the order of priests and knights. From 1271 on, Senj is ruled by the Dukes of Krk who were later renamed the Frankopans and the town regains its old prosperity, both in its economic and in cultural life.

Spovid općena
The Glagolic Alphabet
n the Middle Ages, Senj is known for the glagolic alphabet, the alphabet created for the purpose of christianizing the Slavs in the 9th century. In the 12th ct., the glagolic alphabet is used solely in Croatia and it was particularly developed in Senj. In 1248, the Bishop of Senj became the only Bishop in the Catholic world who could use the glagolic alphabet and the public language in his liturgy service, by the permission of the Pope Inocent IV. This encouraged the further development of this alphabet in the 14th and 15th ct., resulting in many glagolic stone boards and hand written books and documents.

A glagolic printing press was established in Senj in 1494, and it is among the first printing press houses in the south-eastern Europe. Two incunabules were printed there: The Glagolic Missal and Spovid općena.

                                                          An Uskok
The Uskoks
In the middle of the 15th century the millitary forces of the Hungarian-Croatian king Matija Korvin came to town. In 1469 Senj became a center of its captaincy, established because of the evergrowing danger from Turks but also as a defense from the Venetian politics. The Ottoman campaigns to this area were especially common during the first half of the 16th century. At that time the neighbouring places were totally devasteded and the town became a shelter to a large number of refugees from the occupied areas.
The millitary units were formed of the refugees. They were the famous Uskoks who successfully defended Senj until the 17th century and who managed to cause hard losses to the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire and Venice. In 1558. a construction of the Fortress Nehaj, on the hill Trbušnjak, was finished for the needs of defence. The Uskoks was placed there. Because of the heroic resistance to a much stronger enemy, these brave warriors and their stories turned int legends and folk songs. In the 17th century they became a disturbance for a new peaceful policy of the Habsburg Monarchy towards the Ottoman Empire and Venice, and they were evacuated to other places in Croatia.

Port of Senj

The Golden Age - the 18th and 19th ct.
Peace enabled a restoration of trade in Senj and with that economic prosperity of the town was provided. That was especially expressed in the second half of the 18th century and in the first half of the 19th century, when the great constructive works were being done (construction of the new Josephina’s road, restoration of the port, construction of the big imperial depot, regulation of the strong current and similar works). At that time the golden age of the town started and Senj became one of most important centres in the country. The import of salt and export of grain and wood were passing through that port. The sailors sailed on their ships from Senj all over the world and they especially traded with the Mediterranean countries. The entrepreneurs and labour came to that prosperous town; the comercial and shipbuilding companies, chamber of commerce, chamber of trades were founded and the important cultural activity was developed. Also the town music society, the reading club and other cultural organisations were founded. Senj became an important cultural centre and its intellectuals and inhabitans were bearers of the Croatian national ideology.

Senj from air
The Modern Age
The most famous Croatian writers and poets were born and lived there: Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević (1865-1908), Vjenceslav Novak (1859-1905), Milutin Cihlar Nehajev (1880-1931) and Milan Ogrizović (1877-1923). Their busts can be seen in the Poet’s Park in Senj.
The construction of the railway line Karlovac- Rijeka (1873), which went round Senj, had the disastrous consequences for the economy and comercial meaning of the town. The traffic in the port was reduced and the goods took another direction to Trieste and Rijeka. These two towns were connected with the hinterland by the railorad. The role of Senj was reduced to a mere export port for wood. The lack of the economic prosperity and marginalization of the traffic direction had a negative effect on the life of the whole region. In the late 19th century a migration of the inhabitants started. It was very intensive in the 20th century, especially after the end of the World War II, when political reasons were added to the economic reasons. The old town center suffered a great damage in bombing, when many of the extraordinary valuable cultural monuments disappeared. However, many have been preserved to the present day and they make Senj worth visiting both for domestic and foreign tourists.

Senj's regate