Did You Know? 2017-07-13T10:03:21+00:00


Did You Know?

… that the town of Senj is 3,000 years old? 
The pre-Roman name of the present town was Senia. It was one of the most important settlements of the Illyrian Japod tribes, who lived in Lika, western Bosnia, Gorski Kotar and the Littoral (Primorje). 
The fortified settlement emerged on the hill of Kuk, in a position that allowed its inhabitants to control the surrounding area on the mainland and the Senj Channel in the sea. 
The highest point on the hill, the Senona acropolis, had defensive walls and was surrounded by steep rocks. The dwellings of Senona were located on the gentler western slopes, all the way down to the stream of Potok. They were built on terraces and protected by strong dry stone walls. At that time, the sea reached far into Draga, up to the present location of the Velika Vrata town gate. Ships could dock on the northern side of the bay, where a square suitable for the exchange of goods was located. The importance of Senj during this period is attested to by numerous ancient writers who mention the town in their works. 

…that the first known Glagolitic printing works in this area were opened in Senj in 1494? This was only 40 years after Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press.

…that Pope Innocent IV gave permission to Senj in 1248 to hold mass for the first time in Old Church Slavonic using the Glagolitic alphabet? This had not been allowed before.

…that one of the first reading rooms in Croatia was established in Senj in 1835? The Musical Society was founded in 1842, and was also one of the first in Croatia.

…that the town’s present main street Potok (water stream) was named after the torrential stream that in the past flowed into the sea here?

…that the Cathedral of St. Mary houses the oldest known variant of the Croatian national coat of arms, which has officially been in use since 1527? It is the checkerboard coat of arms of the Perović noble family from 1491

…that the ‘Senj Glagolitic Tablet’ is one of the oldest Croatian written monuments? It was written in the Old Croatian Chakavian language using squared Glagolitic script. The tablet was found among the ruins of the town and was excavated in the basement of the Nehaj Fortress. Originally it was the left pluteus of the Church of St. George (11th/12th century).

…that the ‘Uskoks of Senj’ were actually settlers who found refuge and a new home in Senj? They successfully protected the town from the Venetians and Turks for an entire century, and also made a significant contribution to the Croatian fight for freedom and independence. Later on, they were dispersed and moved to Otočac, Brinje, Ledenice and Novi Vinodolski.

…that the gate that was located on the spot of the present Velika Vrata was removed at the end of the 19th century and taken to Vienna, after which all trace of it was lost?

…that the town of Senj lies precisely halfway between the equator and the North Pole. The location where the 45th parallel cuts through Senj is symbolically marked by a sundial.