Interesting facts about Šibenik
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Published: 03.01.2019.
Šibenik is a small Dalmatian town that can boast of various natural and cultural beauties, and a lot of interesting things you might never connect with this little town. So we decided to list 7 interesting facts about Krešimir's town.
Šibenik is the first city in the world that has received public lighting with alternating current. City streets were ligted up on August 28, 1895.
Also in 1895, two days after the hydro power plant started working at Niagara Falls, a hydroelectric power plant also started working at Skradinski buk on the river Krka. It is also the first open hydroelectric power plant in Europe.
The locals from Šibenik made their own money - Šibenik's bagatin. It was used as a payment method for more than 200 years. Money is also produced today, but only as a souvenir. One of the most wanted bills is the bill of 50 bagatins with character of Dražen Petrović.
Šibenik is often called Krešimir's town because it was first mentioned in the Charter of the Croatian King Petar Krešimir IV at December 25 1066. That's a reason why Šibenik's locals mark the birthday of their city every Christmas.
One of the most famous cultural and historical sights of the city - St. James Cathedral is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Until 1649, Šibenik was the most densely populated town in Dalmatia. That year the deadly wave of the plague took over 80 percent of the population.
There is no accepted interpretation of the term "Šibenik" in science. However, in the one of his poems, Juraj Šižgorić explains that the city carries that name, because it is surrounded by rods ("šibe" in Croatian). In Ukrainian, the word "Sibenik" means a mischievous boy.
