October 18, 2018 – Continuing our look at Croatia as it once was through online videos, a look back at one of the most important cultural events in the Croatian calendar, and certainly the proudest – the Sinska Alka Knight Tournament, back in 1931 and a1969.
About 5.5 years ago, I started to blog for the Central Dalmatia Tourist Board, a fabulous part of Croatia to promote, with its natural beauty, wealth of tradition and history, and incredible food and wine. An email was sent to all the local tourist board directors informing them that my services were available, and ten minutes later, an invitation arrived from Sinj to visit the town. The very progressive young director, Jelena Bilic, transformed the town’s tourism profile during her tenure, before jumping to become the Croatian National Tourist Board’s representative in Prague.
These days, Inland Dalmatia is becoming much better known, largely due to the efforts of Jelena, her successor and the other tourist board directors of Inland Dalmatia. I took her up on her invitation and a great day was had by all, as well one of the first in-depth pieces in English about this fabulous town north of Split, which had more personality and heritage than destinations ten times its size. You can read the original article here. One thing led to another and, in cooperation with Jelena and her colleagues, Total Inland Dalmatia was born, an important next step to the decision to start Total Croatia News.
The jewel in Sinj’s crown, of course, is the annual Alka tournament, which has been taking place each year since 1715 to commemorate the Siege of Sinj, where the Ottomans where repulsed against all odds. The Sinj Alka takes place on the first weekend in August, is attended by the Croatian President and other dignitaries and broadcast live on national television. It is a day of immense pride and tradition, as this interview with a former Alkar explains.
It is a tradition which has changed little over the centuries, as today’s videos from yesteryear show. The Sinj Alka in 1931 above.
1969
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r_m7iu3Rs8
2018
A fabulous day and well worth visiting Sinj for. To learn more about it and the rest of this remarkable town, visit the Sinj Tourist Board website.
