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*[[Dinko Šimunović]] - writer
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Revision as of 19:02, 10 February 2008

Knin
Town
View over Knin
View over Knin
CountryCroatia
CountyŠibenik-Knin County
Government
 • MayorJosipa Rimac (HDZ)
Area
 • Total355 km2 (137 sq mi)
Elevation
214 m (702 ft)
Population
 (2001)
 • Total15,190
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
22300
Area code022
Websiteknin.hr

Knin (Croatian: Knin, Latin and medieval Hungarian: Tinin, Serbian: Книн) is a historical town in the Šibenik-Knin county of Croatia, located near the source of the river Krka at 44°02′18″N 16°11′59″E / 44.03833°N 16.19972°E / 44.03833; 16.19972, in the Dalmatian hinterland, on the railroad Zagreb–Split. Knin rose to prominence twice in history, as a one-time capital of both the medieval Croatian state and briefly of the unrecognized, and now defunct Republic of Serbian Krajina. The city is of extreme importance for infrastructural reasons, as the railroads from Zadar, Split and Šibenik pass through Knin, going north to towards Zagreb.

History

In the vicinity of today's muschi Knin there was a town called Burnum which served as an Illyrian and Roman military camp in the 1st century BC.

Knin is mentioned in the 10th century in the history of Constantine Porphyrogenitus as the centre of a parish. A Croatian diocese was founded 1040 and its jurisdiction extended to the Drava river, with the "Croatian bishop" at its head.

Knin was also the capital of the Kingdom of Croatia around 1080 during the rule of King Dmitar Zvonimir. This heritage has led to Knin sometimes being known as the city of Croatian kings or Zvonimir's city (Zvonimirov grad).[1] Between the 10th and the 13th century, Knin was a notable military fort. The huge 10th century medieval fortress on Mt. Spas dominates the centre of town, and its present aspect dates back to the beginning of the 18th century. It is one of the largest fortification buildings in Dalmatia and is divided into the upper, medium and lower town, connected by drawbridges.

The city was also home to the Sinobadi, a well know Serbian family who fought against the Ottoman Turks' advances. Jovan Vitez Sinobad was well known fighter and had a number of victories against the Turks and was killed by the Turks in 1715 near Glamoč. He was buried at the St.George's (Sv. Djordja) church at Sinobadova glavica (hill).[citation needed]

Its strategic position played an important role in many wars and power changes — beginning with the Croatian rulers, then Kingdom of Hungary, the Venetians, Turks, to the Austrians and the French.

On May 29, 1522, the fort of Knin fell to the Ottoman Empire, and Croatian folk massively left the town. The town was populated with Serb refugees by the Ottomans. Century and a half later, on September 11, 1688, it was captured by the Venetian Republic. Subsequently, the Croatian population partially returned and the Franciscans built a monastery and a church there in 1708.

Knin passed on to the Habsburgs together with Dalmatia in 1797 according to the Treaty of Campoformio. After the Peace of Pressburg in 1805, the French Empire gained the city and incorporated it into the Illyrian Provinces in 1809. By 1813, the Austrians regained the control over the town. By the end of the 19th century, as a part of the Habsburg domain of Dalmatia, Knin grew steadily becoming an important commercial as well as the road and railway center. In 1867, Knin became a part of Dalmatia - a territorial entity within Cisleithania. After the First World War Knin became a part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in 1918, which subsequently became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia since 1929).

Knin in the Yugoslav Wars

From October 1990[2], eight months before Croatia declared independence (June 25th, 1991) from Yugoslavia, Knin became the main stronghold for the Serbs in the Knin region, eventually becoming the capital city of the internationally unrecognised Republic of Serbian Krajina in 1991.[3] The leaders of Krajina were Knin locals: Milan Martić, a former police inspector, and Milan Babić, a dentist.[4] These separatist Serbs held the town until Croatian forces liberated it during Operation Storm on August 5, 1995[5] (the date is today marked as a national holiday Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day).

The majority of the population had already fled by the time the Croatian Army took control of Knin.[6][7][8] There were, however, Serbian civilian deaths caused by the shelling of Knin by the Croatian Army during Operation Storm. Croatian army officers involved in Operation Storm Ivan Čermak, Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač have been indicted for alleged war crimes conducted under their commands during Operation Storm and are currently awaiting trial at the ICTY. Both leaders of the self-styled Republic of Serbian Krajina were also indicted. Martić in 1995, several days before the operation, and Babić in 2004. Babić struck a plea bargain and pled guilty to numerous war crimes.[9][10] At the end of the war, Knin's demographic composition changed greatly with the influx of Croat refugees from Bosnia and former Croat militia members. They replaced, to a great extent, those Serbs who fled during Operation Storm.[11] Very few Serbs have returned and the population is now heavily Croatian.

In the fall and winter of 1998, a multi-national Stabilization Force with troops from Norway and the United States stationed in Zagreb worked with United Nations South African military engineers to begin land mine clearing. Approximately 60 km of railroad track between Knin and Martin Brod, which traverses the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, were cleared of mines in preparation to reopen the rail lines. It was during this operation, under the command of Norwegian Major Stein Stolen, that the full extent of the war damage was uncovered. It included the complete removal of 60 km in each direction of overhead copper electrical wire to power electric trains and the digging up of the communications lines which ran parallel to the rails and severing them every 100-200 meters for the entire length. The cleanup and restoration process is ongoing.[citation needed]

Demography

University of Zadar's Geography department published the following data for the population of the town Knin. [12]

Year Total Serbs Croats Others
1880 n.a. 82.3% 15.1% 2.6%
1890 n.a. 84.5% 14.5% 1.0%
1900 n.a. 83.5% 14.3% 2.2%
1910 n.a. 84.2% 14.4% 1.5%
1948 2,242 84.7% 14.6% 0.7%
1953 3,543 84.1% 14.5% 1.5%
1961 5,116 82.1% 15.3% 2.6%
1971 7,300 80.7% 15.2% 4.1%
1981 10,933 72.8% 11.3% 15.9%
1991 12,331 85.5% 10.3% 4.2%
2001 11,128 20.8% 76.5% 2.7%

note: n.a. signifies data not available.


Before the Croatian War of Independence 87% of the population of the municipality and 79% of the city were Serbs.[13] During the war most of the non-Serb population left Knin, while in the last days of the war the Serbs fled the city before it was taken by the Croatian forces.[6][14][7]

In the 2001 census, the population of Knin was 11,128 in the city and 15,190 in the municipality, and the majority of its citizens were Croats with 76.45% and Serbs with 20.8%.[15]

Knin's population is in more flux than that of other Croatian cities given that it has a major refugee problem: both with a large number of Croats who immigrated there and Serbs from Knin who are still refugees. By average resident age, Knin is the youngest city in Croatia. Immigrant Croats form the majority in the city with only a scattered Serbs presence in villages around.[16] [17]

Archeology

The recently discovered Roman town Burnum is 18 km far from Knin in direction of Kistanje. There are the remainings of the biggest amphitheater in Dalmatia built in 77 BC, during the rule of Vespasian which could host 8000 people.[18]

The nearby villages Biskupija and Kapitul are extremely interesting archeological sites from 10th century where many remains of medieval Croatian culture are found including churches, graves, decorations, and epigraphs.[19]

Sport

The main football club in Knin is NK Dinara, formed in 1913. NK Dinara's colours were black and white until 2005 when the club changed its colours to red, white and blue. NK Dinara plays in the 4th division in Croatia (1. Županijska liga Šibensko-kninska). The logo of NK Dinara is red, white, and blue (in that order) with the letter ' 'D' ' in the middle of the logo.

Knin has a sports association which was formed in 1998. Basketball is also popular in Knin. The Croatian National basketball team has played a match in Knin. They played against Isreal in 1999 where Croatia won the match 78:68. Other sports played in Knin are handball, volleyball, kickboxing, karate, tennis and taekwondo.

Towns and Villages in Municipality

Notable people from Knin

References

  1. ^ 2001 Info Adriatic
  2. ^ Oct 1990
  3. ^ Knin-Domovinski Rat
  4. ^ Tanner, Marcus (1997) Croatia: a nation forged in war
  5. ^ HR news
  6. ^ a b Peter Galbraith
  7. ^ a b Pečat Vremena, Vesna Kljajić, OTV 11.05.2007
  8. ^ The New York Times, 11 August 1995, p A1
  9. ^ Martić Indictment
  10. ^ Babić Crimes
  11. ^ O Kninu; Povijest
  12. ^ Department of Geography, University of Zadar
  13. ^ 1991 Yugoslav census
  14. ^ The New York Times, 6 August 1995, p A1
  15. ^ 2001 Croatian census
  16. ^ http://www.countryguidebook.com/Europe/Croatia/Croatia-Attractions-Sibenik-Knin%20county.htm
  17. ^ Croatia-Knin
  18. ^ 2001 Burnum
  19. ^ Sv. Ante Knin
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