KORNATI ARCHIPELAGO

"On the last day of the Creation God desired to crown His work and thus created Kornati Islands out of tears, stars and breath" (George Bernard Shaw)

Kornati Archipelago, proclaimed in 1980. as National Park, occupies the area of about 220 km2 (54.000 acres). There are 89 islands, islets and reefs within the area of Kornati National Park (238 km of the coastline), what makes it the most indented group of islands in the Mediterranean.

KRKA NATIONAL PARK

The Krka National Park is a spacious, largely unchanged region of exceptional and multifaceted natural value, and includes one or more preserved or insignificantly altered ecosystems. It is intended primarily for scientific, cultural, educational, recreational, and tourism activities such as visiting and sightseeing. It was proclaimed a national park in 1985 and is the seventh national park in Croatia.

With its seven travertine waterfalls and a total drop of 242 meters, the Krka River is a natural and karstic phenomenon.

PAKLENICA NATIONAL PARK

The area of Paklenica National Park covers the area of torrent flows of Velika Paklenica and Mala Paklenica, and their distinctive canyons carved vertically into the south slopes of Velebit and the broader surrounding area. The relatively small area (95 km2) has an abundance of geomorphologic phenomena and forms, diverse flora and fauna, attractive landscapes and intact nature.

SIBENIK

Just like other parts of Dalmatia, the Sibenik area abounds with numerous cultural monuments, ranging from prehistoric times down to the present day. The number of archaeological localities from the Illyrian, Roman and early medieval periods is particularly large, but the most valuable are those dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. This is an area of special significance for Croatian history as the centre of the early medieval Croatian kingdom where, from the 9th century up to the unification with Hungary in the 12th century, Croatian kings and princes kept court.

The best known and most precious cultural monument of this area is Sibenik Cathedral, protected as a part of the UNESCO List of World Heritage. This magnificent building took more than 100 years to construct, from 1431 to 1535, and the most deserving for its appearance is the greatest Croatian builder Juraj Dalmatinac (Georgius Dalmaticus), while the dome was completed by Nikola Firentinac.

Today, Sibenik is the capital, cultural and educational, administrative and economic centre of the county of Sibenik and Knin with the population of 51 553 inhabitants.

SPLIT

The largest tourist region in Dalmatia is the part around Split, its largest city. This is the centre and the true heart of Dalmatia, where the majority of its inhabitants live, where the main Dalmatian islands are located, where the beaches are the most beautiful. Here is where most of the precious cultural monuments are to be found as well as two of a total of five Croatian localities included in the UNESCO List of World Heritage: the historical nucleus of Split, with Diocletian's Palace, and the historical city of Trogir. Two of the most outstanding ancient settlements of Dalmatia are located here: early Greek Issa and Roman Salona (the metropolis of the large Roman province of Dalmatia which encompassed an area on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea larger than contemporary Croatia) Split is renowned as well for being a town of museums, the most prestigious of these being the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments which contains the most precious remains of the material and spiritual culture of Croats, particularly from the period of the early medieval Croatian state from the 9th to the 12th century. Numerous galleries of fine arts possess a wealth of exhibits, and the holdings of the Museum of the City of Split include many valuable paintings.

TROGIR

Situated on a tiny isle between the mainland and the island of Ciovo, with which it is linked by bridges, it has retained an almost unchanged appearance since the Middle Ages. What makes Trogir so special is the continuity of its existence that reaches back to the times of the ancient Greeks. Consequently, side by side there stand monuments from the Hellenistic period, Antiquity, the early Middle Ages and the late Middle Ages.

The majority of finds from the rich history of Trogir is held in the City Museum and the 11th -century Benedictine convent of St Nicholas.