Poljica

Poljica (Italian Poglizza) is a name of several localities in modern-day coastal Croatia:

• a village halfway between Zadar and Nin, Zadar county, population 945 (2001)
• a village near Omiš, Podbablje municipality, Split-Dalmatia county, population 816 (2001)
• a village near Marina and Trogir, same county, population 551 (2001)
• a village near Jelsa on the island of Hvar, same county, population 68 (2001)
• a village near Krk on the island of Krk, Primorje-Gorski Kotar county, population 62 (2001)

The Poljica Republic

The most famous Poljica was the Poljica republic or principality (Poljička republika) which existed in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period in central Dalmatia, near modern-day Omiš, Croatia (then often referred to as Almissa). The name poljica stems from the word polje for "field", karst field in particular, a common geographic feature in the area. The Poljica region was first titled "Republic" by an Italian writer Alberto Fortis in 1774.

The most important reason why Poljica is remembered is a statute from the 15th century. It was first written in 1440, revised in 1485, 1515, 1665, and on several later occasions up to the 19th century, growing to 116 articles. It is today kept in the town museum in Omiš. This document contains a description of the Poljica common law and its system of government, and is the most important Croatian historical legal statute (together with the Vinodol codex of 1288) written in the Chakavian dialect and Bosnian Cyrillic. A number of other documents dated 12th to 17th century regarding the Republic have been preserved to date, such as Poljički molitvenik (1614), Statut poljičke bratovštine Sv.Kuzme i Damjana (1619).

The territories of the Poljica republic laid chiefly within the south-easterly curve made by the river Cetina before it enters the Adriatic at Omiš (Almissa). They also comprised the fastnesses of the Mosor mountain (1370 m) and the fertile strip of coast from Omiš to Stobreč, 16 km W.N.W.

The inhabitants lived in scattered villages, twelve of them, each ruled by its count, and all together ruled by the supreme count. These officers, with the three judges, were always of noble birth, though elected by the whole body of citizens. There were two orders of nobles; the higher, including about 20 families, claimed Hungarian descent; the lower, claiming kinship with the Bosnian aristocracy. Below these ranked the commoners and the serfs. At a very early date the warlike highlanders of Poljica became the friends and allies of the Omiš corsairs, who were thus enabled to harass the seaborne trade of their neighbors without fear of a sudden attack by land.

Omiš (Almissa) received a charter from Andrew II of Hungary in 1207, and remained under the nominal protection of Hungary until 1444, when both Omiš and Poljica accepted the suzerainty of Venice, while retaining their internal freedom.

The occupation of Bosnia as well as Herzegovina by the Ottoman Empire gravely impacted the Poljica principality. Notable battles were fought by the local forces against the Turks in 1530 and 1686, and in both occasions the Ottoman army was repelled. A local young woman by the name of Mila Gojsalić became a heroine after sacrificing herself for the good of the Poljica community in one of the conflicts with the Turks — she inflitrated the Turkish camp and blew up the munitions stockpile. A statue of Mila Gojsalić by Ivan Meštrović stands in Poljica overlooking the mouth of Cetina, and the story was also made into a theatre play.

After the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, Poljica was taken over by Austria. The population of Poljica numbered 6,566 in 1806. In the following year, however, the republic incurred the enmity of Napoleon by rendering aid to the Russians and Montenegrins in Dalmatia; and it was invaded by French troops, who plundered its villages, massacred its inhabitants, and finally deprived it of independence.

After the Napoleonic era, Poljica was absorbed by Austria. It since passed to Yugoslavia, and in 1912, the Poljica region was reconstituted as a single municipality. In 1945, it was split again between several municipalities, and remained that way until the present day, when the villages are part of Croatian municipalities of Podbablje and Omiš. Today this area of around 250 km² is inhabited by around 20,000 people.

References

• 
  The 1911 Britannica, in turn, gives the following references:
  • Annuario Dalmatico for 1885 (published at Zara)
  • A. Fortis, Travels into Dalmatia, London, 1778

External link

• History of the Poljica Principality (http://www.almissa.com/republicofpoljica.htm)