See...Split, Croatia Hrvatska, east of Adriactic Sea
Day 09 of 14. Oct 13, 2007.
The ferry arrived at port by 7AM. We waited in line through Customs without problems. The official in the uniform stamped the paperwork with a stoic face, everyone in the group completed the paperwork process; not too long ago entire region was besieged under the iron rules and now was liberated with their recent independence and commerce.
We got to the bus heading to the first checkpoint, not too far from the port, without problem. The bus went through. After an hour drive the second border checkpoint into Bosnia Hercegovina our bus was screened. Our tour guide, Ed, informed us the guard could ask for a Coca-Cola or a bottle of wine to let the bus through. Without any of these, the official could find problems with the bus. The official walked through the bus row after row, looked at everyone’s passports without causing problem. Off we went into Bosnia, for another hour to Medjurogje.
In our returning trip from Medjurogje, day 11th, we had some waiting time for the night ferry. The commerce on this side of the shore was very much bubble with souvenir shops and tourists, people were out at the dock strolling along, or waited for their ferry. The sun was setting down; it was picture perfect time while waiting.
Split (Latin: Spalatum; Italian: Spalato) is the largest and most important city in Dalmatia, the administrative center of Croatia's Split-Dalmatia County, and the country's second-largest city. It is a Mediterranean city, situated on a small peninsula on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea.
Although the beginnings of Split is usually linked to the building of Diocletian's Palace, the city was founded as a Greek colony of Aspálathos much earlier. The Greek settlement lived off trade with the surrounding Illyrian tribes, mostly the Delmatae, who inhabited the (much larger) nearby city of Salona.
In time, the Roman Republic became the dominant power in the region, and conquered the Illyrians in the Illyrian Wars of 229 BC and 219 BC. Upon establishing permanent control, the Romans founded the province of Dalmatia with Salona as the capital. The nearby town accordingly changed its name from "Aspálathos" to "Spalatum".
20th century
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
After the end of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the province of Dalmatia, along with Split, became a part of The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (which in 1929 changed its name to Kingdom of Yugoslavia). Since both Rijeka and Zadar, the two other large cities on the eastern Adriatic coast, were annexed by Italy, Split became the most important port in Yugoslavia. In the new country, Split became the seat of new administrative unit, Littoral Banovina. The Lika railway, connecting Split to the rest of the country, was completed in 1925.
SFR Yugoslavia.
After World War II, Split became a part of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, itself a constituent sovereign republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
When Croatia declared its independence in 1991, Split had a large garrison of JNA troops (drafted from all over Yugoslavia), as well as facilities and the headquarters of the Yugoslav War Navy (JRM). This led to a months-long tense stand-off between the JNA and Croatian National Guard and police forces, occasionally flaring up with various incidents. The city also became the largest passenger and military port in Yugoslavia and the center of the Yugoslav People's Army's (Croato-Serbian: Jugoslavenska Narodna Armija, JNA) Coastal Military District (equivalent of a field army) along with the headquarters of the Yugoslav War Navy (Croato-Serbian: Jugoslavenska Ratna Mornarica, JRM).
In the period between 1945 and 1990, the city was totally transformed and expanded, taking up the whole of the peninsula. In the same period (considered its golden age) it achieved an as yet unsurpassed GDP and employment level, far above the present day's, and became one of the largest cities in the whole of Yugoslavia.
Republic of Croatia
The most tragic such incident occurred in November 15 1991, when the JRM light frigate Split fired a small number of shells at the city. The damage was insignificant, but there were a few casualties. In this incident, only the old town was shelled, as it was exclusively Croat-populated. This was the only time in history that a city was bombarded by a military vessel bearing its name. The JNA and JRM evacuated all of its facilities in Split during January 1992. The economic recession soon began.
Thank you for the "lecture" about Split's history. In my opinion, it is not necessary to "paint it" with political statements since your photos are in color and self- explanatory.