Remnants of the old fortress, that the people of Sinj simply call the Town, watch over Sinj even today after many centuries. It harboured the people and soldiers during the Turkish invasions, guarded and protected the weak, and resisted invaders. In the centre of the fortress there was St Michael’s church which, on the altar of St Barbara, the Franciscans from Rama laid the precious and miraculous image of the Mother of Mercy. In 1699, through the advocacy of Father Pavao Vučković, in the town at the foot of the old fortress, the building of St Mary’s church began. The church was completed in 1712.
There is little left of the fortress itself. After the 1709, 1768 and 1796 earthquakes and repeated barbarian invasions, the old fortified walls of Sinj yielded so the people began to settle in Podvaroš, at the foot of the hill. A small church, which is nowadays in the Town, was built in 1887, in commemoration of two centuries of the arrival of the people of Cetina from Rama. It is a symbol of a vow, a close alliance and devotion which have for centuries bound the Cetina people to the Mother of God. In 2008, in honour of their eternal heavenly patroness, the people of Sinj built a bronze statue of the Madonna of Sinj, the work of the academic sculptor Josip Marinović.
From the foothill to the votive church at the Old Town, the Way of the Cross stands. The stations were sculptured by the most prominent Croatian sculptors.
The Old Town Fortress and the cemetery have been under protection of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia.
Source: TZ Sinj
