Bribir | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Archaeological ruins of old Bribir above village | |
  Bribir Location in Croatia | |
| Coordinates:43°55′N15°50′E / 43.917°N 15.833°E /43.917; 15.833 | |
| Country |  Croatia |
| County | Šibenik-Knin County |
| Municipality | Skradin |
| Area | |
• Total | 16.0 km2 (6.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 229 m (751 ft) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
• Total | 89 |
| • Density | 5.6/km2 (14/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 22223 |
Bribir is a village inŠibenik-Knin County, near the town ofSkradin, in southernCroatia. In its location in the Roman period was townVarvaria, while during the medieval times it was an important and rich settlement with a stronghold and Franciscan monastery, a capital city of power of theŠubić family.
The village is located at the foot of the hill of Bribir, in theRavni Kotari geographical region. It is 14 km from Skradin.[3] The old Bribir is on a hill 305 m high, located nearby the main medieval road that linkedZadar andKnin, because of which with nearOstrovica, was given name of "the key to Zadar".[4]
In its surroundings were found sites dating toPaleolithic,Neolithic,Eneolithic and earlyBronze Age.[3][4] Up until the Roman conquest, theLiburnians had inhabited the region and built the settlement at the hill of Bribir (Croatian:Bribirska glavica), which is now an archaeological site. After the Roman conquest in 1st century AD, it was known as the town (municipium) ofVarvaria.[3] It had big city walls encompassing more than 7hectares.[3]Pliny the Elder mentionedVarvarini as one of 14 municipalities under the jurisdiction ofScardona (Skradin).[4]
In themigration period, after the fall of theWestern Roman Empire, the region switched hands, being occupied by the Croats. Its territory and nearby river Guduča were possibly related to the activity ofBorna andGuduscani in the 9th century.[5] InDe Administrando Imperio (950s),Berber is one of the counties part ofLittoral Croatia.[3] Since the 11th century it was the capital of power of the Croatian nobleŠubić family,[3] who were initially callednobiles, comites orprincipes Breberienses (Princes of Breber,Croatian:Knezovi bribirski).[5] Bribir achieved its peak in the 13th and 14th century, during the period when the members of family ruled overCroatia as theBans of Croatia. In 1347,King Louis I strengthened his position in Dalmatia by taking the strategically important fortress ofOstrovica, near Bribir, from theŠubić family and in return gave to them estates in the vicinity of Zrin.[6]
By the end of the 14th century it was losing prominence as the centre of the county (moved toOstrovica), but continued to be the centre of activity of already branched family which ruled over it in the 15th century.[5] In the early 16th century, Šubić's family with native population had to flee when it was conquered in 1523 by the Ottomans.[3] It is not known how the town fell.[5] The Orthodox population in the 16th century started to settled beneath the hill where is the location of the current village which was founded in the beginning of the 18th century.[3][7] Bribir was under Venetian rule from 1684, and centuries later was part of the war-timeRepublic of Serbian Krajina (1991–1995).[3]
Due to its rich history, on the surroundings of the village can be seen remains of Roman and medieval buildings, Roman-era city-walls, late antique rotunda and Early Christian mausoleum with sarcophagi, nymphaeum with mosaics, early medieval cemetery Vratnice from ca. 9th century (where were found Old-Croatian archaeological artifacts).[3][4]
The Šubić's built a large palace on the hill of Bribir, an ideal place to control the surrounding territory, overseeing all roads and approaches from the sea (fromZadar toŠibenik) to the hinterland (fromVelebit toSvilaja nearKnin).[4] They founded the Romanesque-style church of St. John the Evangelist (first mentioned from 1229),[3] which was the seat of Bribir archpresbyter.[4]
Paul I Šubić of Bribir (reign 1260s–1312) founded the Gothic-style church of St. Mary and Franciscan monastery in the end of the 13th century or beginning of the 14th century (first mentioned from 1327),[3][7] with the church being "the most representative Franciscan church in the continental part of Dalmatia" and the first Franciscan monastery in the Dalmatian hinterland (among its monks beingNicholas Tavelic).[7][8] By its dimension and richness it exceeded the needs of the local population, but it was an example of power, social and economic prestige of both the family and Bribir, making it a cultural and religious centre in the hinterland.[7] In the 15th century were still hired the best craftsmen to work in the church, like Petar Radmilov from Šibenik and Vidul Ivanov and his sons Nikola, Juraj, Jakov and Fran Vidulić from Zadar.[7] The church was also a mausoleum of the Šubić family (at least 30 named people were buried there, were also found graves and a gravestone with the family's coat of arms).[4][7] In the church probably were placed also two memorial plaques, one dedicated to Paul I, while the second to kingDemetrius Zvonimir of Croatia (who was buried there according to the legend of his death[9]).[7] Part of the church and monasteries inventory was preserved by Franciscans in the monastery of St. Francis in Šibenik.[7]
During the same period the three small churches of St. Nicholas, St. Stephen and St. Saviour were built.[4] All these and previous churches were almost completely in ruins by the 17th century.[4][7] On the place of one medieval church, in 1574 was built Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Joachim and Anne.[3]
| population | 396 | 590 | 405 | 440 | 459 | 550 | 630 | 663 | 680 | 723 | 706 | 580 | 568 | 549 | 79 | 103 | 89 |
| 1857 | 1869 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1921 | 1931 | 1948 | 1953 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
In the 2011 census, the village had 103 inhabitants.[10]
| Ethnic group | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serbs | 665 | 528 | 454 | 517 (94.17%) |
| Croats | 37 | 18 | 28 | 21 (3.82%) |
| Others | 4 | 34 | 86 | 11 |
| Total | 706 | 580 | 568 | 549 |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Osnivanje franjevačkog samostana scrkvom sv. Marije datira se u sam kraj 13. stoljeća te izravno povezuje s velikaškim rodom Šubića (Gunjača, 1968.: 236; Laszlo Klemar, 2016.: 91). Smatra se da je crkva sv. Marije bila najreprezentativnija franjevačka crkva u kontinentalnom dijelu Dalmacije (Laszlo Klemar, 2016.: 93). U sačuvanim historijskim izvorima nema vijesti o izgradnji crkve i samostana, ali je za zahvate raznih rekonstrukcija i opremanja crkve kroz 15. stoljeće posvjedočen višekratan angažman šibenskih i zadarskih majstora (Laszlo Klemar, 2016.: 96).
43°55′0″N15°51′0″E / 43.91667°N 15.85000°E /43.91667; 15.85000
