180 years of tourism in Šibenik and Krka National Park

(Photo: NP Krka)

The city of Šibenik and Krka National Park welcome millions of visitors from around the world each year, but it is worth remembering the moment when it all began, as tourism too has its beginnings.

The first organised tourists arrived in Šibenik on 29th June 1844, aboard the steamship Imperatore, owned by the Trieste steamship company Austrian Lloyd, to celebrate the feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

From Šibenik, they continued on a smaller steamboat to Skradinski buk, and on their return, they visited Zadar.

(Photo: NP Krka)

Recently, Krka National Park commemorated that historic voyage aboard the ship St. James, which departed from the Krka pier towards Skradinski buk.

Instead of tourists, the ship carried representatives from the City, County, the Krka National Park Public Institution, tourist boards, hoteliers, and travel agencies.

Skradinski buk

The Skradin musicians welcomed them at their destination, giving them a chance to feel like real tourists.

Šibenik chronicler Darko Gulin revealed that on 20th August 1838, Austrian Lloyd introduced a regular passenger steamship line between Trieste and Kotor.

In 1844, they began organising excursion tours, such as trips to Venice, Ancona, and Pula. On 28th June 1844, tourists set out on a trip to Dalmatia on the new steamship Imperatore, which included Šibenik and Skradinski buk, with a return visit to Zadar.

Krka National Park

It was the first ship in Dalmatia intended solely for tourists, what we would today call the first cruise ship.

The harbour master in Dubrovnik recorded the arrival of 153 passengers on 10th August 1844, some of whom were described as “passagieri della gita di piacere” or pleasure trip passengers.

The Croatian Tourist Board also considers 1844 as the beginning of tourism in Croatia due to the opening of Villa Angiolina in Opatija.

(Photo: NP Krka)

One hundred and eighty years later, Šibenik and Krka National Park are recognised as destinations that perfectly blend natural and cultural heritage. Šibenik, a city nearly a thousand years old, is today a renowned cultural tourism destination, thanks to its fortresses and unique old town with twenty-four churches and 2,851 steps.

(Photo: NP Krka)

With 388 kilometres of cycling and 47 kilometres of hiking trails, seven waterfalls, as well as seven medieval fortresses and numerous endemic plant and animal species, Krka National Park is a destination where one can simultaneously explore millennia-old cultural and historical heritage and enjoy the charms of protected natural values.

Krka National Park (Lucian Potlog/Pexels)

These foundations form the visitor experience, telling the story of Šibenik, Skradinski buk, and other sites within Krka National Park, which began 180 years ago.