Solin
In ancient times, the town of Solin, then called it Salona was the center of Croatia, an old town surrounded by the Kozjak and Mosor mountains, through which the Jadro River flows.
Why Solin is a Must Visit Location while Cruising Croatia
The imposing walls with towers and gates, the forum with the temples, the theater, the administrative palace, the amphitheater and the unique monuments of the bishopric and the early Christian church in the cemeteries where the martyrs of Salona were buried (Manastrine, Kapljuč, Marusinac ).
Most of the finds from Salona are in the Archaeological Museum in Split.
This important locality in the immediate vicinity of Split is the largest complex of ancient monuments in Croatia and is visited by numerous tourists all year round.
History of Solin
The history of Solin is somewhat similar. The town developed on the location of ancient Salona, the biggest Roman town on the east Adriatic coast, which was completely destroyed during the Slav and Avar invasion in the 7th century. However, Solin never matched the urban development of ancient Salona, because the neighbouring Split emerged as a more attractive town.
Split developed in what remained of the palace of Roman emperor Diocletian, and the Romans escaping from Salona settled in it, and later the Croats arrived as well. A palace thus became a city, and Solin was turned into its suburb.
The road from Trogir to Split leads through Kastela, a series of seven small towns that developed from forts (or Kastel; thereby the name).
These forts were built by secular and clerical feudal landlords from Trogir and Split during the 15th and 16th centuries to protect their land from the Turks.
They were the cores around which the later small towns congealed, in the same way that Diocletian’s palace gave refuge to survivors from Salona to form the core of today’s Split.