VRLIKA, a town in the region of Cetinska Krajina, close to Peru
a Lake, 40 km northwest of Sinj; elevation 444 m; population 1,334. Economy is based on farming, livestock breeding and production of threads. Vrlika is located on the main road (M2, E71) Knin - Sinj; the regional road connects it with Drni
.
Above the town are the remains of the fortified town of Prozor, with the ruins of a spacious residential building, a water tank and a chapel. The fortification was built in the 15th century by Hrvoje Vuki
Hrvatini, probably in order to safeguard the village of old Vrlika (Vrhrika) si-tuated on the location of the present-day Cetina village, next to the source of the Cetina river. The inhabitants of that village settled in the present-day Vrlika in the second half of the 15th century. - On the location of Zdu, a large early Croatian graveyard (7th-9th c.) has been found.
(21236) D:
Tourist association: see Sinj
Located in the vicinity of the source of the Cetina river and of Peru
a Lake, Vrlika is famous for its springs (spring water was used by the royal court in Vienna), as well as for its ozone-rich healthy climate of the Dinaric Alps. It features a rich folk heritage - "Vrliko Kolo" (wheel dance), danced without instrumental accompaniment, is very famous. Embroideries from Vrlika region are also famous: folk costumes, rugs, caps, bags. Folklore and folk songs of Vrlika inspired the Croatian composer Jakov Gotovac to create his opera Ero s Onoga Svijeta (Ero from the Other World).
The traditional festivity is Vrliki Dernek (Fair) (26th-27th of July ). The surroundings of Vrlika are also attractive, especially the source of the Cetina river, with the famous nearby church of the Holy Salvation.
Vrlika is the birthplace of the Croatian writer Milan Begovi.
Cetina, a village near the source of the Cetina river, 8 km northwest of Vrlika. On the location of the village are the remains of the early Croatian church of the Holy Salvation, one of the oldest and best preserved monuments of the early Croatian sacral architecture. The church is a one-nave structure with a sanctuary consisting of three apses, in the form of a trefoil, and with a massive bell tower in the front. The church was built in the 9th century. Later, the middle apse was pulled down and substituted by a bigger, rectangular one. The remains of the church and the bell tower have been conserved. During the excavation work, several architectural fragments and pieces of stone furnishings adorned with "pleter" (interlacery ornaments) have been found. The most important is the fragment of a beam with semi--uncial inscriptions from it is known that the church had been dedicated to Christ and built on the order of the prefect Gastika, the son of Nemira. In the area surrounding the church a large graveyard has been discovered, with more than 1,100 graves (several tombs have been found in the church itself), most of which (more than 800) originally had stelae.
Koljane, village on the coast of Perua Lake, 15 km east of Vrlika. On the location of Crkvine, the remains of an early Croatian church from the 9th century have been found; the plate of the altar partition, adorned with "pleter" (interlacery ornaments), is one of the best preserved and most beautiful monuments of the early Middle Ages in Croatia. Around the church are numerous graves; their finds include earrings from the 9th-12th century, as well as swords and spurs of the Carolingian type (9th c.). The Orthodox monastery with the church dates back to the 18th century. The monastery treasures manuscripts, most of which date from the 16th century. When the upper course of the Cetina was turned into an artificial lake, the monastery was moved to a plateau above the lake, while the village was flooded.