Makarska () is a town on the Adriatic coastline of Croatia, about southeast of Split and northwest of Dubrovnik, in the Split-Dalmatia County.

Makarska is a prominent regional tourist center, located on a horseshoe-shaped bay between the Biokovo mountains and the Adriatic Sea. The city is noted for its palm-fringed promenade, where cafes, bars and boutiques overlook the harbor. Adjacent to the beach are several large capacity hotels as well as a camping grounds.

Makarska is the centre of the Makarska Riviera, a popular tourist destination under the Biokovo mountain. It stretches for between the municipalities of Brela and Gradac.

History

thumb|right| Map depicting the Turks trying to recapture Makarska after the [[Battle of Lepanto (1571)|Battle of Lepanto in 1571.]]

Pre-history

Near present-day Makarska, there was a settlement as early as the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. It is thought that it was a point used by the Cretans on their way up to the Adriatic (the so-called Amber Road). However it was only one of the ports with links with the wider Mediterranean, as shown by a copper tablet with Cretan and Egyptian systems of measurement.

A similar tablet was found in the Egyptian pyramids. In the Illyrian era this region was part of the broader alliance of tribes, led by the Ardaeans, founded in the third century BC in the Cetina area (Omiš) down to the River Vjosë in present-day Albania.

The Roman era

Although the Romans became rulers of the Adriatic by defeating the Ardiaei in 228 BC, it took them two centuries to confirm their rule. The Romans sent their veteran soldiers to settle in Makarska. After the division of the Empire in 395 AD, this part of the Adriatic became part of the Eastern Roman Empire and many people fled to Muccurum from the new wave of invaders. The town appears in the Tabula Peutingeriana as the port of Inaronia, but is mentioned as Muccurum, a larger settlement that grew up in the most inaccessible part of Biokovo mountain, probably at the very edge of the Roman civilisation. It appears as Macrum on the acts of the Salonan Synod of 4 May 533 AD held in Salona (533),

After the war, during the socialist Yugoslavia, Makarska experienced a period of growth, and the population tripled. All the natural advantages of the region were used to create in Makarska one of the best known tourist areas on the Croatian Adriatic.

21st century

Following Croatian independence in 1991, Makarska had a sustained growth in first few years with many of the refugees (mostly from Herzegovina) being accommodated in tourist accommodation. In the late 1990s tourism was thriving again and in following decades created a speculative, rapid and wild construction boom with lot of highly problematic expansions (especially in Veliko Brdo), while with little or no urban planning at all. Local and regional experts have been active in drawing attention to the problems caused by the lack of planning and in this have recently been joined by members of the local population and citizens along with urban and environmental activists. Increasing attention has been given to the protection of the surrounding natural environment, particularly the Biokovo Nature Park, which represents a significant ecological and geographical feature of the area.

Geography

thumb|476x476px|View from the mountain

Makarska is located in central Dalmatia, at the junction of Biokovo and the Adriatic Sea.

The town is sharply separated from the interior by the mountain Biokovo (the highest peak of St. George, 1762 m), and it is connected with the central Dalmatian islands of Brač and Hvar by the Adriatic Sea, which modelled some of the most beautiful Croatian beaches in the Makarska Riviera.

The town itself is located in a natural harbour between two peninsulas, Osejava and Sv. Petra. The flysch zone between the mountain and the sea is only a few kilometres wide, so that the further expansion of the city goes to the east and west, i.e. to the neighbouring settlements of Tučepi and Krvavica.

Main sights

thumb|right|200px|[[Biokovo|Biokovo Skywalk]]

thumb|right|200px|[[Makarska Cathedral|St. Mark’s Cathedral]]

thumb|right|200px|[[Sveti Petar (Makarska, Croatia)|Sv. Petar peninsula]]

thumb|right|200px|[[Makarska Riviera]]

  • St. Mark's Cathedral (17th century), in the Main Square.
  • Statue of the friar Andrija Kačić Miošić by the famous Croatian sculptor Ivan Rendić.
  • St. Philip's Church (18th century).
  • St. Peter's church (13th century), situated on the Sv. Petar peninsula, rebuilt in 1993.
  • The Franciscan monastery (16th century). It houses a library with numerous books and rare incunabulas and a famous, world known collection of shells from all over the world, collected in a Malacological Museum from 1963.
  • Napoleon monument, erected in the honour of the French Marshal Marmont in 1808.
  • The Baroque Ivanišević Palace.
  • Villa Tonolli, which is home to the Town Museum.

Government and politics

The mayor of Makarska is Zoran Paunović (SDP). He was confirmed as mayor on 30 May 2021 winning 59.85% of the vote (2021 Croatian local elections, second round). The deputy mayor (vice mayor) is Antonia Radić Brkan (Ind.).

The City Council is composed of 15 representatives. The last elections were held on 16 May 2017 (2021 Croatian local elections). The two largest parties in the city assembly are SDP with 7 members and HDZ with 5 members.

Climate and vegetation

Makarska experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). Winters are warm and wet, while summers are hot and dry. In summer, daytime temperatures are around 30 °C, often around 35 °C, and nighttime temperatures are around 25 °C. Winter temperatures are mostly from 10 to 15 during the day, and from 6 to 10 °C at night. Makarska is one of the warmest towns in Croatia.

Since records began in 1981, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station at an elevation of was , on 9 August 2017. The coldest temperature was , on 7 January 2017.

Vegetation is the evergreen Mediterranean type, and subtropical flora (palm-trees, agaves, cacti) grow in the town and its surroundings.

Economy

thumb|240x240px|Main square at night

The main economic activity of Makarska, as well as the whole region, is tourism. Tourists have at their disposal a large number of beds in the hotel and private accommodation. The strong reliance on international visitors has influenced the development of payment and service  infrastructure, with emphasis on diverse payment preferences. In 2022 the city introduced the possibility of cryptocurrency payments for certain municipal services, in cooperation with Electrocoin,  becoming one of the early adopters of such practices among Croatian tourist cities.

Sports

The local chapter of the HPS is HPD "Biokovo", which had 51 members in 1936 under the Dragan Koukal presidency. At the time, it had a dedicated mountain guide section. Membership rose to 72 in 1937, and Tomo Jurišić was elected its president. Membership rose to 73 in 1938 under the Ivan Lovrić presidency.

Education

There are 3 primary schools and 3 secondary schools.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the total population of the town is 13,834, in the following settlements:

  • Makarska, population: 13,426
  • Veliko Brdo, population: 408

A 2019 study found that high school students in Makarska were the tallest in the Dinaric Alps (and the world), with males having an average height of 187.6 cm.

Notable natives/residents

  • Giuseppe Addobbati (1909–1986) - Italian film actor
  • Jure Bilić (1922–2006) - Yugoslav and Croatian politician
  • Alen Bokšić (1970–) - Croatian retired football player
  • Ivan Božić (1915–1977) - Yugoslav historian
  • Stipe Drviš (1973–) - Croatian boxer
  • Garry Kasparov (1963–) - Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster; naturalised Croatian citizen
  • Andrija Kačić Miošić (1704–1760) - Croatian poet and monk

upright=3|center|thumb|Panoramic view of Makarska and [[Biokovo mountain]]

upright=3|center|thumb|Panorama of Makarska's harbor

Twin towns/cities

Makarska is twinned with:

  • Đakovo, Croatia
  • Stari Grad, Croatia
  • Vukovar, Croatia
  • Kavadarci, North Macedonia
  • Budva, Montenegro
  • Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Maribor, Slovenia
  • Znojmo, Czech Republic
  • Nocera Inferiore, Italy

Friendly relationships:

  • Vinkovci, Croatia
  • Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy
  • Stein, Germany
  • Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Germany
  • Bugojno, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Olomouc, Czech Republic

<gallery>

File:Makarska Town Centre 2.jpg|Makarska town center

File:Makarska II.jpg|Makarska harbor

File:Zwischen Omis und Makarska 8248.jpg|Karst cliffs

File:The church of St. Jure in nature park of Biokovo in Croatia.jpg|Chapel on Biokovo

File:Franjo Tudman in Makarska IMG 8282.JPG|Franjo Tuđman monument

File:Trajekt Makarska 3.JPG|Pelješčanka ferry

File:Makarska - crvena polupodmornica danju.jpg|Red semi-submarine in Makarska harbour

</gallery>

See also

  • Makarska massacre
  • Croatia
  • Dalmatia

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • GCatholic - former cathedral