Vrlika

Vrlika is a small town in inland Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The closest large towns are Sinj, Knin, and Drniš. Vrlika was given the status of town in 1997. Vrlika is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the Government of Croatia. Vrlika is located in the Cetinska Krajina region in Split-Dalmatia County. It is 40 km northwest of the town of Sinj on the State route D1 between the towns of Sinj and Knin and on the regional route which connects Vrlika with Drniš. The oldest evidence for human life in this region is from 30,000 BC. During the Bronze Age, between 1900 and 1600 BC, there was the so-called Cetina culture on the territory of Vrlika municipality. Archaeologists have found ancient graves, a Bronze Age sword and other smaller items dating back to that period. These findings made it clear that in the past this land was densely populated. Prior to the arrival of the Romans, the Illyrian tribe of Dalmatae are said to have inhabited the region. After multiple wars, lasting for as long as 250 years, in the year 9 AD they were finally defeated and annexed by the Romans. The history of the town begins in the 7th century when it was formed a village on the spring of the river Cetina, in a field below the mountain Dinara. In the 9th century probably during the time of Duke Branimir of Croatia, the Church of Holy Salvation "Crkva Sv. Spasa" was built near Vrlika, then called Vrh Rike. The Church was built by old Croatian Gostiha of Cetina "Cetinski župan Gastika" in memory of his mother and his sons. Vrlika was first mentioned in written sources in 1069, as the seat of Cetin County (Cetinska županija) – the old Croatian county, which included the towns of: Glavaš, Prozor, Sinj, Trilj, Stolac, Gradac, Nutjak, Tugare and Poljic parish (Poljička župa). Of the five old Croatian counties (Imotska, Zminjska, Kliška i Dridska) that were located in the area of the current Split-Dalmatia County, Cetinska County was the largest.