Sebenico

Sebenico (Slav. Sibenik), a picturesque town of Austrian Dalmatia, stands on a landlocked bay of the Adriatic, 43 miles by a branch-line of railway NW. of Spalato. The chief ornament of the place is its cathedral, built all of stone, in 1430-1555. The style is Italian Gothic. Three forts and walls on the land side defend the city. Fishing is carried on, and there is some trade in wine and olive-oil. Pop. 6858. It was a favourite place of residence of the kings of Croatia, was made the seat of a bishopric in 1298, and repulsed a siege by the Turks in 1647. See Jackson's Dalmatia (vol. i. 1887).