Senj (; it, Segna, la, Senia, Hungarian and german: Zengg) is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the

Mala Kapela Mala Kapela (, lit. ''Small Chapel'') is a mountain range in Croatia, part of the Dinaric Alps. It stretches in the direction northwest–southeast, and it extends from the mountain pass called "Kapela" or "Vrh Kapele" (alt. 887 m), that separates ...

and

Velebit Velebit (; it, Alpi Bebie) is the largest, though not the highest, mountain range in Croatia. The range forms a part of the Dinaric Alps and is located along the Adriatic coast, separating it from Lika in the interior. Velebit begins in the nor ...

mountains. The symbol of the town is the

Nehaj Fortress The Nehaj Fortress ( hr, Tvrđava Nehaj ) is a fortress on the hill Nehaj in the town of Senj, Croatia. The name ''Nehaj'' comes from the Croatian term ''Ne hajati'' , which means 'don't care'. In Croatian this fortress has also other names, ...

( hr, Tvrđava Nehaj) which was completed in 1558. For a time this was the seat of the

Uskoks The Uskoks ( hr, Uskoci, , singular: ; notes on naming) were irregular soldiers in Habsburg Croatia that inhabited areas on the eastern Adriatic coast and surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Bands of Uskoks fought a g ...

( it, Uscocchi), who were Christian refugees from

Ottoman Bosnia The Ottoman Empire era of rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina (first as a ''sanjak'', then as an ''eyalet'') and Herzegovina (also as a ''sanjak'', then ''eyalet'') lasted from 1463/1482 to 1878 ''de facto'', and until 1908 ''de jure''. Ottoman ...

resettled here to protect the Habsburg borderlands. The

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

accused the Uskoks of

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and declared war on them which led to their expulsion following a truce in 1617. Senj is to be found in the

Lika-Senj County Lika-Senj County (, hr, Ličko-senjska županija) is a county in Croatia that includes most of the Lika region and some northern coastline of the Adriatic near the town of Senj, including the northern part of the Pag island. Its center is Go ...

of Croatia, the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Gospić-Senj The Diocese of Gospić–Senj ( hr, Gospićko-senjska biskupija; la, Gospicien(sis)-Senien(sis)) is a diocese located in the cities of Gospić and Senj in the Ecclesiastical province of Rijeka in Croatia. History * May 25, 2000: Established as ...

and the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rijeka The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Rijeka ( hr, Riječka nadbiskupija i Metropolita; la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Fluminensis) is a Latin Catholic Metropolitan archdiocese in Croatia. Its episcopal seat is Rijeka Cathedral, dedi ...

History

Senj has apparently been inhabited since prehistoric times. A settlement called ''Athyinites'' in today's Senj was mentioned in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

documents dated to 4th century BC. The Illyrian tribe

Iapydes The Iapydes (or Iapodes, Japodes; el, Ἰάποδες) were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the Istrian peninsula. They occupied the interior of the country between the ...

inhabited the area as it was located in Illyria. ''Senia'' was a thriving town in the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

province of Dalmatia, used by the Romans as a stronghold against the Illyrians in the 2nd century BC. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Avars and the

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

eventually settled here in the 7th century AD. The Catholic

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

of Senj was established in 1169. King of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

Béla III gave the town to the Knights Templar in 1184, and in 1271 it became the property of the Frankopan counts of

Krk Krk (; it, Veglia; ruo, Krk; dlm, label= Vegliot Dalmatian, Vikla; la, Curicta; grc-gre, Κύρικον, Kyrikon) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kot ...

. In 1248 the bishop of Senj was allowed by

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

to use the

Glagolitic alphabet The Glagolitic script (, , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril, a monk from Thessalonica. He and his brother Saint Methodius were sent by the Byzan ...

and the

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

in liturgy. A Glagolitic

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

was set up in 1494 and produced the '' incunabula'' ''The Glagolic Missal'' and ''

Spovid općena Spovid općena is the name of the first Croatian language printed book from 1496. It was printed in the printing press of Senj, Croatia and its process was overseen by Blaž Baromić. It was published some thirteen years after the first Croatian ...

''. The military captaincy of Senj was established in 1469 in order to defend against the invading Ottoman and Venetian armies. The town sheltered thousands of refugees from nearby occupied areas. The

was completed in 1558 on the hill

Nehaj Nehaj is the name of the hill that is found above the center of the town of Senj in Croatia. More famous is the Nehaj Fortress that stands on top of the hill. The name ''Nehaj'' comes from the Croatian term ''Ne hajati'' which means ''Don't car ...

, which at the time was outside of town. Today it is wholly within the town's borders. The wars with the Ottomans lasted well into the 17th century. During this time the

lived in Senj and occupied the fortress. They served an important purpose during the wars since they had small units of men rowing swift boats that proved to be very effective guerrilla forces. However, after the

Uskok War The Uskok War, also known as the War of Gradisca, was fought by the Austrians, Croats, and Spanish on one side and the Venetians, Dutch, and English on the other. It is named for the Uskoks, soldiers from Croatia used by the Austrians for irreg ...

with Venice, which ended in 1617, they were forbidden to settle in the area. Prince Radic was appointed Prince of Senj by king Rudolf emperor of Austria (1 December 1600). (Radic family) Native noble family from Lika region; members of the family were Uskok military leaders at the headquarters in Senj. The 18th century brought some prosperity, especially with the construction of the '' Josephina'' (named after

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

) linking the Adriatic coast via Senj to Karlovac. The railway line built in 1873 between Fiume ( Rijeka) and Karlovac did not pass by Senj which held back further development. Until 1918, the town was part of the

Austrian monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

( Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia,

Lika-Krbava County Lika-Krbava County ( hr, Ličko-krbavska županija; sr, Личко-крбавска жупанија; hu, Lika-Korbava vármegye) was a historic administrative subdivision of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an auton ...

after the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

), in the

Croatian Military Frontier The Croatian Military Frontier ( hr, Vojna krajina or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary. History Founded in the late 1 ...

(''Regiment III''). In the fall of 1943, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when Fascist Italy capitulated, the Partisans took control of Senj and used it as a supply port. Subsequently, the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

started bombarding the town. By the end of the year they had demolished over half of the buildings in town and inflicted heavy civilian casualties.

Climate

Senj has a temperate climate which is usually described as temperate Oceanic or Marine west coast, with mild, windy winters and relatively dry and warm summers. According to the Köppen climate classification it falls within a cool, dry-summer subtropical zone (Csb), with cool-summer Mediterranean characteristics such as its usually dry summers.

Economy

Modern Senj is a seaside tourist town. Primary industries are fishing, boating, and tourism.

Population

In 2011 the

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

of Senj had 4,810 inhabitants, while the whole administrative area of Town of Senj had 7,182 inhabitants. Population by nationality: *

6,971 (97.06%) *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

66 (0.92%) * Albanians 27 (0.38%) * Bosniaks 24 (0.33%) * Others 94 (1.31%) There are 27 settlements in the Town of Senj and they include: Alan, Biljevine,

Bunica The Bunica ( sr-cyrl, Буница) is a short river in Bosnia and Herzegovina and a left bank tributary of the Buna. Its source (Vrelo Bunice), located in a place called Parila under sharp cliffs between the two villages of Hodbina and Malo Polj ...

, Crni Kal,

Jablanac Jablanac is a village in Lika-Senj County, Croatia, located on the Adriatic Sea underneath the Velebit mountain, overlooking the island of Rab. The village used to have a ferry port that connected it to Rab, but that moved up the coast to Stinica ...

, Klada, Krasno, Krivi Put, Lukovo, Melnice, Mrzli Dol, Pijavica, Podbilo,

Prizna Prizna is a port village in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = ...

, Senj, Senjska Draga, Starigrad, Stinica,

Stolac Stolac is an ancient city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the region of Herzegovina. Stolac is one of the oldest cities in Bosnia and Herzego ...

, Sveta Jelena, Sveti Juraj, Velike Brisnice, Veljun Primorski, Volarice, Vrataruša, Vratnik i Vrzići.

Notable people

* Blaž Baromić (c. 1450 – 1505) *

Nikola Jurišić Baron Nikola Jurišić ( hu, Jurisich Miklós; – 1545) was a Croatian nobleman, soldier, and diplomat. Early life Jurišić was born in Senj, Croatia. He is first mentioned in 1522 as an officer of Ferdinand I of Habsburg's troops deployed ...

(1490 – 1545) *

Ivo Senjanin Ivan Vlatković ( 1571 – 1612), known in folklore as Ivo Senjanin ("Ivo of Senj"), was a Habsburg Croatian uskok who led numerous military exploits against the Ottoman Empire. Due to few historical sources, much of what is known about him today ...

(c. 1571 – 1612) *

Pavao Ritter Vitezović Pavao Ritter Vitezović (; 7 January 1652 – 20 January 1713) was a Habsburg-Croatian polymath, variously described as a historian, linguist, publisher, poet, political theorist, diplomat, printmaker, draughtsman, cartographer, writer and print ...

(1652 – 1713) * Ivan Paskvić (1754 – 1829) *

Vjenceslav Novak Vjenceslav Novak (11 September 1859 in Senj – 20 September 1905 in Zagreb) was a Croatian Realist writer, dramatist, and music historian. He was born into an emigrant Czech family, of which his mother was from an emigrant Bavarian family. ...

(1859 – 1905) *

Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević (; 17 February 1865 – 29 October 1908) was a Croatian poet. His reflexive poetry, reaching its zenith in the 1890s, was a turning point that ushered modern themes in Croatian poetry. Early life Kranjčevi ...

(1865 – 1908) *

Eugen Kvaternik Eugen Kvaternik (31 October 1825 – 11 October 1871) was a Croatian nationalist politician and one of the founders of the Party of Rights, alongside Ante Starčević. Kvaternik was the leader of the 1871 Rakovica Revolt which was an attempt ...

Milan Moguš Milan Moguš (; 27 April 1927 – 19 November 2017) was a Croatian linguist and academician. Biography He was born in Senj, where he finished primary school and high school. In the academic year 1948/49 he attended in Faculty of Philosophy in Z ...

* Vladimir Ćopić * Sandra Šarić * Edi Karić * Domagoj Krajina

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Senj is twinned with:

Gallery

File:Senj6.jpg, Senj waterfront File:Winter bora in Senj.jpg, Senj harbor chained with snow after a cold front File:Senj statue.jpg, ''The Three Seamen'' statue File:Suncanik Senj 45 paralela 07.jpg, The Sundial in the town that lies on the north 45th parallel File:Nehaj Senj Croatia outhouse 090727a.JPG, View of the Adriatic Sea File:Nehaj Senj Croatia West 090728.JPG, The

fortress Nehaj The Nehaj Fortress ( hr, Tvrđava Nehaj ) is a fortress on the hill Nehaj in the town of Senj, Croatia. The name ''Nehaj'' comes from the Croatian term ''Ne hajati'' , which means 'don't care'. In Croatian this fortress has also other names, ...

is the most famous monument and symbol of Senj File:Senj from the sea.jpg, A view of Senj from the sea.

References

External links

Official website of the town of Senj

Official website of the Tourist Board of Senj
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Croatia Populated coastal places in Croatia Populated places in Lika-Senj County Illyrian Croatia Cities in ancient Illyria