303rd Sinjska Alka in Sinj Next Weekend

by croatiaweek
July 27, 2018
in Entertainment

Sinjska Alkar (Photo: Alkar.hr)

For over 300 years the tradition in Sinj has been kept alive.

The 303rd Sinjska Alka Knights lancing tournament, an event which has been held since 1715, will be held on Sunday 5 August 2018 in the southern Croatian town of Sinj.

Sinjska Alka – SVI zaJEDNO HRVATSKO NAJ

Sinjska Alka, as the event is known, is an equestrian competition commemorating the victory over the advancing Ottoman Turkish administration in the 18th century.

Now in its 303rd year, Sinjska Alka sees various horsemen attempt to aim their lances at a hanging metal ring, known as the Alka, at full gallop. The ring, or Alka, consists of two concentric iron circles joined by three bars so that the distance between the circles is divided into three equal parts. The central circle, which is the smallest one, is worth three points (punat), the upper field two points, and two lower fields one point each.

The Alkar

Only men born in Sinj and surrounding villages are eligible to take part in the event and with it comes considerable prestige. The costumes worn by the Alkar men are the same that were worn by the warriors in the 18th century.

Sinjska Alka was inscribed in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2010.

Alka (Photo Credit: Ilija Veselica)

The Sinjska Alka is also celebrated with local religious events, social gatherings, and festivities and is the only remaining example of the medieval knightly competitions that were regularly held in the Croatian coastal towns until the nineteenth century.