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VRLIKA
SHORT INTRO ABOUT VRLIKA
A village and town in the Split-Dalmatia County, 31 km southeast of Knin. It lies at the foot of the Kozjak hill, at the elevetion of 426 and 444 metres; not far from Peruća Lake, along the Knin-Sinj road. The town itself has approx. 820 inhabitants (data from 2011), but with the nearby 9 settlements, which belong to the town area: Garjak, Ježević, Koljane, Kosore, Maovice, Otišić, Podosoje, Vinalić and Vrlika itself, there are approximately 2200 inhabitants.
In the town area there are: Rehabilitation Centre including the Institute for Children and Youth with developmental issues; Drinking water factory – Cetina and Meteorological station. As well as Parish Church of Our Lady of the Rosary dated from 1898.
Vrlika was formed under the ruined remains of the Prozor fort, which construction of began in 15th century by the mighty Split duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić. From 1520/22 it was under the rule of the Ottomans, and from 1688 to 1797 under the Venetian rule. Since 1811 it was the centre of the municipality, and in 1854 it was proclaimed as the centre of the district.
Today's Vrlika is mostly formed in the 17th and 18th century. During the rebellion and aggression by the local Serbs, starting from summer 1991 it was occupied and destroyed, and population expelled from their homes and their land. The city was liberated & recaptured from the enemy in the summer of 1995 during the Croatian military-police operation Storm in August 1995.
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VRLIKA
SHORT INTRO ABOUT VRLIKA
A village and town in the Split-Dalmatia County, 31 km southeast of Knin. It lies at the foot of the Kozjak hill, at the elevetion of 426 and 444 metres; not far from Peruća Lake, along the Knin-Sinj road. The town itself has approx. 820 inhabitants (data from 2011), but with the nearby 9 settlements, which belong to the town area: Garjak, Ježević, Koljane, Kosore, Maovice, Otišić, Podosoje, Vinalić and Vrlika itself, there are approximately 2200 inhabitants.
In the town area there are: Rehabilitation Centre including the Institute for Children and Youth with developmental issues; Drinking water factory – Cetina and Meteorological station. As well as Parish Church of Our Lady of the Rosary dated from 1898.
Vrlika was formed under the ruined remains of the Prozor fort, which construction of began in 15th century by the mighty Split duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić. From 1520/22 it was under the rule of the Ottomans, and from 1688 to 1797 under the Venetian rule. Since 1811 it was the centre of the municipality, and in 1854 it was proclaimed as the centre of the district.
Today's Vrlika is mostly formed in the 17th and 18th century. During the rebellion and aggression by the local Serbs, starting from summer 1991 it was occupied and destroyed, and population expelled from their homes and their land. The city was liberated & recaptured from the enemy in the summer of 1995 during the Croatian military-police operation Storm in August 1995.
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LOREM IPSUM
DOLOR SIT AMET
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LOREM IPSUM
DOLOR SIT AMET
JOHN DOE
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson
Tlf.: +11 111 111 111
jhondoe@realestate.com
www.loremipsum.com
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JOHN DOE
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson
Tlf.: +11 111 111 111
jhondoe@realestate.com
www.loremipsum.com
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Vrlika Tourist Board
www.visitvrlika.com
info@visitvrlika.com
Tel: +385 21 827 460
Cogitolab j.d.o.o.
www.cogitolab.hr
info@cogitolab.hr
On the Cetina and its tributaries, mills were an important segment of traditional culture and economy during past time. They belonged to the most common type of Dalmatian mills with a horizontal mill wheel (spoons) in which the jet of water from the gutter - jaže falls on the spoons of the mill wheel, and its horizontal circular motion over the vertical axis is directly transmitted to the upper millstone.
The already mentioned Lelas mill is an example of a spoon mill with twelve mills and two auxiliary buildings. All the buildings are unfortunately in a dilapidated condition, without a roof structure, but with partially preserved stone walls.
On the right bank of the Cetina, along which is the access road to the mill, a small dam was built that directs water to the mill, and the mill buildings are protected by a dam from large river torrents. In case of low water level, water accumulated in the dam and was used to start the mills.
The name jaža - gap is widespread in Dalmatia. The width of the pit is adjusted to the width and number of mills, it has square openings through which water is released into wooden gutters or troughs and thus directed towards the mill wheel. The troughs are at the bottom of the narrowed cross-section, so that the water power falls precisely on the spoons of the lower plant that starts the operation of the mill wheel.
The main building with twelve mills was built under the ditch and at an elevation that accepts water from the trough in the basement of the mill where the spoons for each mill are.
Today, only one spoon and several mill wheels have been preserved. No complete mechanism of the mill has been preserved, but its restoration is envisaged. The main building of the mill has a basement in which the lower parts of the mechanism for starting the mill wheel are located. Also through the basement water flows in a controlled manner and exits under the southern facade of the mill.
The ground floor area, the main area where grain is received and flour is dispensed, had twelve wooden baskets above the mills as well as a fireplace area and a bed for the miller. The building had a gabled roof, a wooden roof structure with a roof made of grooved "French" tiles.
As a rarely preserved monument of traditional architecture, Lelas mill is in the Register of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia.
Maras mill situated on Vrlika spring called Zduš was an interesting example of a spoon mill with a horizontal mill wheel and three mill plants. In the same space there is an open fireplace and a space for millers. Water from the Zduš stream is fed in spoons through wooden ditches and in that way a mill plant has been started.
This particular mill is no longer in use, so the terrain where it is located is pretty neglected, mostly impassable and quite dangerous for everyday travellers, tourists and pilgrims.
The main economic potentials are concentrated along the area of Lake Peruć and the upper course of the river Cetina. In the coastal area and the lower zones of the slopes of Svilaja and Dinara, conditions are favorable for agriculture, fruit growing and animal husbandry. The waters of lakes and rivers provide the local population with numerous opportunities for the development of this area, primarily in terms of tourism development and numerous types of offers with the following activities:
- natural beauties, rich and lush vegetation and specific semi-mountainous climate
(health - recreational and excursion tourism)
- cultural and historical heritage
- mountain massifs of Svilaja and Dinara
(mountain, mountain and excursion tourism)
- Lake Peruća
(adventure, sports and cycling) and
- rural and eco tourism!
In the area of town of Vrlika and the settlements that gravitate to it today we have 4 distinctive marked hiking trails/mountain trails - St. Jure trail, Zolj trail, Marin bunar trail and Lišanjski vrh trail, 3 marked bike trails – Trail Lake Peruća, Trail Cetina and Trail Golo brdo and one hiking trail – which is symbolically called the Trail of Vrlika springs. All these activities, especially hiking or trekking can be planned and organized in accordance with these two Dalmatian natural wonders, mountains Dinara and Svilaja.
Depending on your wishes, demands and possibilities, choose one of the marked trails and stay in the fresh forest air, enjoy the beautiful views from the peaks and of course refresh yourself with healthy home-cooked food and domestic drinks upon return from a particular hiking trail. (For more information please contact the following agencies: Mountaineering Association 'Zolj' and Dalmatia Explorer esteemed agency for adventure tourism and outdoor activities both based in Vrlika).
Vrlika Fortress is located on a steep rock separated from the hill Kozjak above Vrlika. According to its preservation, it is one of the most important medieval fortresses in the hinterland of Dalmatia. It's a fortress erected at the turn of the 14th and 15th century on the vast territory of the vigorous Cetina prince Ivaniš Nelipić.
Today, the fort is called "Gradina" by the locals. From it the view extends, from the foot of the Dinara and the main springs of the river Cetina on the one hand, to the heights of Kamešnica, Svilaja and Lake Peruća on the other.
It has an irregular rectangular floor plan with a central fortified residential part which was entered via a masonry ramp and a movable wooden bridge on the east façade. On the west side is the residential part, the "providur's apartment." On the east side, the fort is defended by a small tower with a circular floor plan. The entrance to the fortress was on the west side, sheltered by a special rounded wall. The southern, inaccessible side of the complex is protected by a low rampart, built on the cliff itself.
It was first mentioned in 1406 in a grant from Ladislav of Naples, by which the Croatian-Hungarian king donated the fortress, the parish of Vrlika and power over the noble families of Čubranić and Mišljenović, to the then Bosnian duke and Duke of Split Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić (1350-1416), but already since 1411 the fort has been in the possession of the powerful Cetina prince Ivaniš Nelipić.
The Turks will conquer it around 1520 and there they will locate the seat of the nahija (smaller territorial unit) within the Klis sandžak (larger territorial unit). The Venetians captured the fort in September 1688. The fortress itself was destroyed in 1715 during the so-called "Small War" and the famous Turkish attack on the Cetina region and Sinj. The Ottomans then spared the lives of the mercenary soldiers who surrendered in Vrlika, however they did not show such a mercy towards the residents sheltered in the fortress. After that, the Prozor fort was probably abandoned and was no longer rebuilt.
He was born in Podosoje near Vrlika in 1697, ten years after his father Mate Grabovac from Međar (Kotar) moved to the Vrlika area. He was a preacher, professor, poet, and prose writer, benefactor, as a chaplain he provided pastoral care and spiritual support to Croatian soldiers serving in the Venetian army. The paintings of Our Lady that he sent from Italy to the Split sanctuary of Our Lady of Health and to Imotski and Vrlika have been venerated even to this day.
In May 1718 he entered the Franciscan Order in Zaostrog. He completed three years of philosophy and four of theology in Italy, and passed as a lector and preacher, and in 1726 he was ordained the priest.
Grabovac's life resembles the lives of many other Franciscan priests at that time.
In his texts, especially in the poems Slava Dalmacije and Od naravi i ćudi arvacke, as a distinct patriot, he wrote about the difficult position of Croats in the Venetian Republic. In 1747 he published in Venice the notable book Cvit razgovora naroda i jezika iliričkoga aliti rvackoga. Printed in a modest edition of 700 copies, in which he sought to teach the people moral lessons, but also basic concepts of geography, history, good manners and wisdom. Unfortunately Father Grabovac fell into great trouble and disgrace with the Venetian authorities, and soon after its publication, he was declared a state traitor.
His famous notion and written statement because of which he has been arrested:
When the king wanted to send someone in battle, then he sends the Croats as first ones, and when the profit has been shared, then he asked them: "Where have you been?"
(freestyle translation)
Copies of the work Cvit razgovora naroda i jezika iliričkoga aliti rvackoga that the government could reach were burned down in Split, Zadar and finally in Venice, and only six copies have been preserved to this day, of which only two are complete.
He was arrested and accused of being a rebel and a traitor because of his views, in which he sharply attacked the injustice and harmfulness of the Venetian administration in Dalmatia.
He was sent to notorious Venetian prison Sotto and Piombi to serve his sentence. Having become seriously ill during trial proceedings, friar Filip Grabovac was sent to a monastery on the island of San Spirito, where he eventually died on February 13, 1749.
The mill near the Vrlika fountain was probably built before the Vrlika fountain was renovated at the end of the 19th century. The strong spring of water that powered the mill mechanism was used east and downstream of arranged space of the most famous fountain in Vrlika.
The mill was in operation until the middle of the 20th century. It belongs to the Stojić family, so it is also known in Vrlika as the Stojić mill. It is a smaller mill with a floor plan of 7 x 4 meters and with only one millstone.
With the reconstruction of the drainage canal along the road in the 1970s, and the construction of the stone sub-walls of that canal, the terrain of the road and the area around the mill were completely elevated. The mechanism of the mill was partially preserved, and the spoon was made of wood. No parts of the mill basket or hearth that was in the mill were found, so replicas have been made.
The mill building itself has recently been completely renovated and efforts have been made to preserve its original outlines, façade and roof structure, which has ultimately succeeded.
South of Vrilo, opposite of the mill, in 1926/27 another spring was captured – locals named it Mala česma.
The old Church of Our Lady of the Rosary was described in 1709 by Stjepan Cupilli then Archbishop of Split, in his visitations. In 1753 it was replaced by a new church that gradually fell into ruin. The today's Church of Our Lady of the Rosary was built in 1876 on the site of the first church and was dedicated as late as 1898.
The baroque main altar serves as an ornament to the interior of the church. The valuable paintings of Celestin Medović and Bruno Bulić as well as the main altar painting of Our Lady (mid-18th century, gift of father Filip Grabovac) were either destroyed or stolen during the Croatian war of Independence in 1990-ies, when the whole church was devastated.
In the course of restoration work, the interior was embellished with the stained-glass windows of academic painter Ante Kuduz. The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary underwent repair and restoration after the liberation in 1995.
In front of the church is a monument of friar Filip Grabovac - work of Stipe Sikirica, the famous sculptor from Cetina Region. Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, patron saint of the area of Vrlika, is regularly celebrated on the first Sunday in October.
The reconstruction of the fortress began in modern times, back in 1988 but it was abruptly interrupted by the Serbian occupation during the Homeland War in 1991. In 2006 and 2010, the reconstruction of the Vrlika Prozor continued with the aim of reviving and commissioning of this unique medieval castle in the interior of Dalmatia. Fortress Prozor is inscribed in the Register of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia.
The fortress can be reached on foot by climbing from the Vrlika Orthodox Church to the fortress in about 20 minutes. A slightly longer road, with a much better view of the fort and the town of Vrlika, leads from the road Vrlika – Drniš, It starts a hundred meters behind the last houses in Vrlika on the mentioned road towards Maovice or Drniš. The sightseeing of this fortress is at your own risk.
The stone bridge on the Cetina located in Paško polje was probably built at the beginning of the 18th century. The bridge is made from mediaeval megaliths, which were originally used as tombstones. A unique example of spanning the river, it is located near numerous archaeological sites, the most important of which is the pre-Romanesque Church of Holy Saviour with a necropolis. The bridge does not have its original name, and there is neither the exact year of construction nor the name of the builder on it.
The tombstones were probably brought from a 15th-century necropolis near the Vranješi hamlet. A similar bridge, the so-called Vukovića bridge, spans the backwater of the River Cetina near the Vukovića hamlet, downstream from the Vukovića spring of the River Cetina.
Garjak - settlement (village) is located 5 km east of Vrlika. Most of the houses were once located on the slopes on the west side of the Cetina until the construction of the Peruća reservoir. Today they are on the very shores of the lake. By flooding the fields, the population emigrated, and the few remaining inhabitants fled during the Homeland War, so that the settlement is mostly deserted today.
However, traditional architecture is well preserved. It is located almost entirely on a small peninsula located on the northwest shore of Lake Peruća. The peninsula on which the settlement of Garjak is located is separated on one side by a large bay and on the other side by another bay into which the river Cetina flows.
Due to this geographical position, it has the best beaches for swimmers on Lake Peruća, which are characterized by a gentle slope and pebble shoreline and are a great lure for swimmers from surrounding places during the touristic season, most often during the summer months of June, July and August when the water temperature in the lake reaches a level that is acceptable for swimming.
Accumulation Lake in Dalmatia, on the river Cetina; covers 13 km2. It lies near the village of Donji Bitelic, 16 km north of Sinj, at 360 m above sea level. It is 20 km long, up to 64 m deep, and contains 565 million m3 of water. The lake was created by filling water from the river Cetina after the construction of a 56 m high dam (1958) for the needs of hydroelectric power plant Peruća, which was put into operation in 1960.
At the same time the area next to today's lake, which was originally overgrown with natural forest and meadows long nurtured by peasants from the surrounding villages, had to be submerged, which resulted in the migration of this population to other parts of the country.
But Peruća is not only important because of the operation of the hydroelectric power plant. At the same time, it regulates the water level of the Cetina south of the lake, thus controlling water spills in Sinjsko field and surrounding smaller towns, and also affects the operation of two other hydroelectric power plants on the river located in the lower course of the Cetina.
Therefore, all three hydropower plants are essential for the production and supply of electricity to the surrounding area.
During the Homeland War, the lake, the dam and the wider surrounding area had been occupied by insurgent Serbs during the summer of 1991. The dam itself was mined on January 28, 1993. Although it withstood the blasting, it suffered severe damage and after extensive work the dam was repaired and rebuilt by the emergency intervention of the Croatian Army and Croatian Electric Power Industry employees, and has been put in the operation again since 1996.
Under the dam, in order to prevent the runoff of water into the karst ground an underground concrete curtain has been constructed and stocked. On that occasion, some settlements, large amount of small villages and the Dragović monastery, built in 1395 during the reign of the Bosnian-Croatian king Tvrtko I. Kotromanić, were flooded.
In September 2003, due to a great drought that lowered the water level from the lake, the famous "flooded" monastery had "emerged" in 1959.
Lake Peruća near Vrlika is still insufficiently recognized as a destination that can transform the Vrlika region with additional investments. Recently it is used for recreational fishing, swimming, camping and rowing (preparation of athletes). The lake offers the pleasure of swimming, rowing and fishing, and it has recently been carefully noticed by sport fishermen and recreationists, and of course rowers. Although still underused, it is a paradise for water sports, and the construction of the Garjak rowing centre speaks in favour of that.
There is a legend about a monster from Lake Peruća that the locals popularly called Karakondjula, and some even call it a Peruća creature or a Dalmatian boa!
Every 10 to 15 years, an eyewitness appears who claims that the monster really exists and has seen it. The oldest testimony dates from the 70s and 80s of the last century. While Karakondjula was last seen in 2014 and 2016.
According to the legend, Karakondjula lives in the underwater monastery Dragović, which was submerged in 1958 during the creation of Lake Peruća, and attacks drunks and sloths and drags them into the water.
According to some sources, the monster of Lake Peruća is actually the snake Elaphe quatuorlineata (Croatian: Kravosas or Dalmatian boa constrictor), which can grow up to more than 3.5 m in length. But it rarely appears on the lake. It is the largest European snake.
It was originally a single-nave longitudinal church with a three-apse or three-leafed sanctuary on the east and a vestibule (west building or westwerk) and a bell tower on the west side. During the 13th and 14th century, the central semi-circular apse was demolished and rebuilt into a square one. The walls of the church are reinforced on the inside with rectangular ladders, and on the outside with buttresses.
A large cemetery with more than 1,150 ancient Croatian graves has been discovered in the area around the church. Several graves were also found in the church itself. Among the numerous, diverse, rich archaeological artefacts (jewellery, tools, weapons, coins, and fabric), luxuriously made earrings and parts stand out: gilded silver belt decorated with chiselled human and animal figures, with stylistic features of Gothic style (kept in the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments in Split).
In the past Catholic believers from Vrlika, Kijevo and Knin used to do a pilgrimage here on the Feast of the Saint Saviour, later that pilgrimage event has been forbidden, for more than 50 years.
Church of St. Saviour is registered in the Register of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia.
Church of St. Saviour is one of the most important pre-Romanesque Croatian buildings, and occupies a prominent place in the overall European pre-Romanesque period. It is located near the main source of the Cetina River, in the middle of a spacious cemetery, and is the only church from the 9th century in the area of Dalmatian Hinterland whose tower on the western portal still stands. This old Croatian church is almost completely preserved in its original form, with a characteristic bell tower above the entrance to the church with 15.5 meters height. In fact, it is the oldest preserved bell tower in medieval Croatian architecture.
It was built by the Cetina prefect Gostiha (Gastika) in memory of his beloved mother Nemira and his sons in the second half of the 9th century, during the reign of Branimir, duke of Primorska Croatia. Code excavations found architectural fragments and pieces of stone furniture decorated with Croatian braid. The first written mention of the Church of the Holy Saviour is in the conclusions of the Split Church Council from 1185.
The construction of the bridge over the river Cetina near the village of Vinalić was undertaken by the Austrian administration in 1907, and it was built by home/domestic master builders using dark grey polished stone. The bridge has three equally-sized semi-circular openings, which lie on the stone pylons with a rectangular cross-section. The concrete rate of their foundations is of the more recent date.
In form of configuration and manner of construction, it is similar to other bridges from the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, in Dalmatia.
The bridge was renovated in the summer of 2014.
The entire area around the bridge, including the riverbed and the whole surrounding area, is a large archaeological site. Also a large prehistoric fortress stands out, the so-called Balečka gradina, above the right bank of the Cetina, on the south side of the bridge. Several ancient, Roman inscriptions were found around the bridge, while a bronze prehistoric sword was found in the Cetina riverbed.
In the area of the nearby village of Jare there are the remains of a Roman villa rustica. The approach to the river from the west, protects the so-called Kosorska glavica/hill on which it is also located a large prehistoric hillfort.
A macadam promenade on the right side of the bridge leads to the famous Lelas mill.
Balečki Bridge is in the Register of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia.
The mill in the hamlet of Vukovići is situated on one of the sources of the river Cetina with six mill plants and a horizontal mill wheel of the spoon type. Next to the mill building with mill plants, there is also a space for millers where there was a queue for grinding grain. The stone building was built next to the second biggest source of the river – Vukovića vrilo at a two-meter lower elevation, so that the spring is used as an accumulation of water from which the water is directed through spoons to the buckets, which are basically used to run the mill.
The unique natural phenomenon of a strong source of a river and a mill with a dam represents a very valuable hydro ethnographic monument of both natural and traditional architecture.
The whole of the mill and the spring are inscribed in the Register of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia.
The main and the most abundant source of the river Cetina is Glavaš (other local names are Milaševo vrilo, Veliko vrilo, Gospino oko, etc.). It is a spring whose bottom is over 130 meters below the surface, it has the shape of an elliptical lake and
it is the richest in terms of the water power. The water gushes with clear bubbles and immediately becomes a river. Glavaš flows slowly and peacefully into the Paško polje.
The second most abundant source is Vukovića vrilo, where the pumping station with the administrative facility is located. It is very similar in shape to Glavaš and has an elliptical appearance and a characteristic greenish-blue colour. Vukovića vrilo during the summer period has a fairly low concentration and flow of water, but in winter from the so-called cave erupt a strong torrent of cold water creating a magnificent waterfall.
Both of these springs of the river Cetina are 380 meters above the sea level.
Vrlika folk costume belongs to the very top of the national ethnographic treasure of the Croats. It is not only the most recognizable segment of the entire ethnographic heritage, but it is part of history. The first weaver took the basic ornament from old Croatian stone plastic, which she turned into decoration and tradition with her skilful fingers. And so it has continued for centuries.
Threads are strung, colours are matched, weaved and tied long into the night so that everything merges into a unique costume of a woman and a man, a girl and a boy, which is an indispensable part of all rituals and important events, both ecclesiastical and secular.
The Vrlika folk costume managed to preserve the stylistic features of the medieval cultural inventory and tradition with exceptional quality and consistency. According to its calm, static forms, the polychrome embroidery prints a dense ornament very similar to the one on the old Croatian plastic sculpture. Also the favourite jewellery forms are almost the same as those found in the old settlement of Vrh Rike, so we can truly confirm that folk tradition, keeping them vital until the beginning of the second millennium.
The musical expression ojkanje or ojkavica from the Dinaric cultural area is sung in the Dalmatian hinterland and in Ravni Kotari, Bukovica, Podvelebit region, Lika, Kordun and
Karlovac area. Forms of varying intensity are widespread in this area.
Ojkavica belongs to the oldest strata of musical expression on Croatian territory. Ojkanje is characterized by specific shaking of the voice, a special way of singing "from the throat". Ojkavica is performed by the one singer alone or accompanied by another voice which at the moment of shaking lies on a longer accompanying tone.
Ojkanje in two voices is sung in the area between the rivers Krka and Cetina, in Vrlika, Kijevo, Drniš and Šibenik hinterland. Until recently, this way of singing served people as a way of daily communication while performing different tasks or travelling by horse caravans, parties in the long nights by the hearth (fireplace) like during the pastime for shepherds when keeping eye and guarding their cattle.
Today, ojkavica is performed by the elderly persons and dance/folklore groups. It is protected as the intangible cultural heritage of the Republic of Croatia.
UNESCO Committee for intangible cultural heritage of the world, in 2010 included the musical expression singing ojkanje on the list of endangered intangible world heritage.
Lake Peruća hosted the first Vrlika Lake Festival from 25 to 27 June 2021. Outdoor rock festival with the motto: Nothing unseen, just a return to nature and to yourself!
After last year's postponement due to the COVID19 pandemic, in 2021 bands like Atomsko Sklonište and Zabranjeno Pušenje took the stage by storm on Saturday, June 26.
Excursionists who camped around the lake, volleyball teams, children who participated in art workshops, quizzers and film lovers, and especially the Vrlika band Promašaj were also responsible for the contribution to the great atmosphere and promising entertaining event.
Next year, it is planned to bring even more performers, to create an even stronger atmosphere, and to create a real every year event in this area.
Using the imposed "right of the first wedding night" (by the Ottoman custom), a Turkish commander kidnapped the bride at a wedding, mounted a horse and took her to the Prozor fortress. The groom decided to wash the injured pride with blood. He crept up to the tower, climbed up to the lighted window, and slipped unnoticed into a room where the lustful commander Sulim saw only the naked body of a virgin. The groom stabbed the commander in the chest. As Sulim exhaled, the groom kissed his bride for the last time and then jumped from the tower window into the abyss of death. This legend with a love tragedy is proudly passed down from generation to generation back more than 350 years.
According to legend, the Croats immigrated under the leadership of five brothers (Klukas, Lobel, Muhlo, Kosjenc and Hrvat) and two sisters (Tuga and Buga, or Vuga) from White Croatia north of the Carpathians.
According to that legend, one of those brothers - Klukas and his entourage arrived in the Vrlika area, and settled in this pleasant corner of their new homeland. In the immediate vicinity of the source of the karst beauty Cetina river, one of the Croat tribes founded a settlement called Vrh Rika (Verchrecha, Vercherica, Verhlichky, Verlechensis, Werkrika, Verchioc). Vrh Rika itself is first mentioned in Latin in 1185 in the writings of the Split Church Council.
From this Old Croatian period originates the pre-Romanesque church of St. Saviour, built in the second half of the 9th century, which even today with its remains testifies to the monumentality of construction and the importance of the Vrlika region in the beginnings of Croatian history.
Česma (Vrilo) is a picturesque park from the 19th century where one of the numerous springs of the river Cetina is located. Česma is the source of a stream in the forest in the southwestern part of Vrlika. The spring is descended on three sides by stone steps, and water flows from six stone spouts on the stone wall. It is mentioned in the cadastral books in 1840. In 1875, on the eve of the visit of Emperor Francis Joseph to the Vrlika region, the spring itself was put in order. A stone wall was built around the spring, which frames a plateau with a circular ground plan. Downstream from Vrilo, there is a stone sink for washing clothes.
A small power plant with an electric pump was built next to the Česma in 1939, and Vrlika was already supplied with electricity and water. As a place of gathering and socializing, Česma played a significant role in the life of the people of Vrlika and inspired Milan Begović, according to whose libretto Jakov Gotovac composed the most popular Croatian comic opera 'Ero s Onoga Svijeta' (usually translated as „Ero the Joker, literally - Ero from the other world”). There is a monument to Milan Begović at the Česma. It is the most original stage on which the aforementioned opera is performed every summer. Česma (Vrilo) and its surroundings are entered in the Register of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia.