Sibenik Promenade

 Day 17 – Šibenik, Croatia   Wednesday, November 19

Tour - Šibenik Promenade

The little symbol above the S means that it is pronounced as Sh rather than just S.

The only entrance by sea to the town is through a winding channel about three miles long, we anchored just of shore near a small village and used tenders to go to shore. Then a short bus ride into the city.




As we walked through the city, there is a lot of restoration going on, Sibenik like other Croation cities was bombed by the Serbs as the Yugolavian Federation broke up. The church of St. Francis, now a Franciscan Monestary, built in 1229 was under repair so I couls not get a good picture.


We passed Gothic-Renaissance Church of St. Ivan, this like most of the 24 churches in the city are closed to the public, except on feast days.


Like many of  the European cities, Sibenik has many narroy streets of alleyways


The Inventor of the paraschute was from Sibenik so they selebrate his legacy


Even though Sibenik is a small town it was the first town in Europe to get Alternating Current electricity thanks to a power plant at nearby Krka National Park built by Nicola Tesla.  They got it two days after New York was connected to the plant at Niagara Falls.  Tesla was from what is now Croatia. The street lamp above is one of the original ones that lit the city.


Along the streets there were thesewater bowls built into the walls for to hold water for dogs and cats. According to our guide the text translates to God loves Dogs.


At the heart of the city is a plaza on one side the City hall, still used to this day as the seat of city government


On the other side if the Crown Jewel of the city and the jewel of the Dalmatian coast.. The Cathedral of St. James a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Started in 1430, the basilica’s construction spanned over a century and reflects the move from Venetian-Gothic to Tuscan-Renaissance. 

Around the wall of the church are 71 human faces around the outer wall, no two are alike and represent a number of the people who lived here during the construction of the cathedral.



Statue of St. James



Statue titles St. Michael Slays the Devil (where the devil is represented as a dragon)

Statue of Juraj Matejev Dalmatinac (George the Dalmation) who was the Master Mason that designed and built the Cathedral, he is positioned to be looking back at his masterpiece.


Interior


Beneath the alter is the tomb of the Bishop that oversaw construction and the Bishop who concecrated the completed cathedral.


Side Alters





Rose window above the entrance to the church


The elaborately decorated Baptisterty, elaborately decorated walls and ceiling and walls, unfortunately I could not get pictures of the walls because they crowded our whole tour group into the room.







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