From top: Veliki Kaptol; Center left:Antun Gustav Matoš monument, Holland Storehouse; Center right: Sisak Fortress, Roman ruins of Siscia; Bottom: Old bridge over theKupa river
Sisak (pronounced[sǐːsak]; also known by otheralternative names) is acity in centralCroatia, spanning the confluence of theKupa,Sava andOdra rivers, 57 km (35 mi) southeast of the Croatian capitalZagreb, and is usually considered to be where thePosavina (Sava basin) begins, with anelevation of 99 m. The city's total population in 2021 was 40,185 of which 27,886 live in the urban settlement (naselje).[6]
Sisak is the administrative centre of theSisak-Moslavina County, Croatia's biggest riverport and a centre of river shipping industry (Dunavski Lloyd). It lies on theD36 state road and the Zagreb-Sisak-Novska railway. Sisak is a regional economic, cultural and historical center. The largestoil refinery in Croatia is located in Sisak.[7]
Prior to belonging to theRoman Empire, which gave it the Latin nameSiscia, the region wasCeltic andIllyrian and the city there was namedSegestica[8] orSegesta.[9] Writers inGreek referred to the city asAncient Greek:Σισκία,romanized: Siskía,Σεγέστα,Segésta, andΣεγεστική,Segestikḗ.[9]
Siscia is described byRoman writers as a great town in the south ofUpper Pannonia, on the southern bank of theSavus, on an island formed by that river and two others, theColapis andOdra, a canal dug byTiberius completing the island.[9] It was on the great road fromAemona toSirmium.[10] According toPliny the name Segestica belonged only to the island, and the town was called Siscia; whileStrabo says that Siscia was afort in the neighbourhood of Segestica;[11] but if this was so, it must be supposed that subsequently the fort and town became united as one place. Siscia was from the first a strongly fortified town; and after its capture byTiberius, in the reign ofAugustus,[12] it became one of the most important places ofPannonia; for being on two navigable rivers, it not only carried on considerable commerce,[13] but became the central point from which Augustus and Tiberius carried on their undertakings against thePannonians andIllyrians. Tiberius did much to enlarge and embellish the town, which as early as that time seems to have been made acolonia, forPliny mentions it as such: in the time ofSeptimius Severus it received fresh colonists, whence in inscriptions it is calledCol. Septimia Siscia. The town contained animperial mint, which produced coins under a series of emperors between 262 and 383 AD.[14]
TheChristian martyrQuirinus of Sescia, presumed the first bishop of theDiocese of Sescia, was tortured and nearly killed duringDiocletian'spersecution of Christians. Legend has it that they tied him to a millstone and threw him into a river, but he freed himself from the weight, escaped and continued to preach his faith. Today he is thepatron saint of Sisak. When Diocletian split Pannonia into four provinces, Siscia became the capital ofPannonia Savia, the southwestern one, for which Siscia contained the treasury; at the same time it was the station of the small fleet kept on the Savus. Siscia maintained its importance until Sirmium began to rise, for in proportion as Sirmium rose, Siscia sank and declined.[9]
The 16th-century triangularfortress of the Old Town, well-preserved and turned into the Native Museum, is the main destination of every tourist. The fortress is famous for the victory of the joint forces ofCroats, Austrians andCarniolans (Slovenes) over theOttomans in 1593, known as theBattle of Sisak. It was one of the early significant defeats of the up-to-then invincible Ottoman army on European territory. The CroatianBanThomas Erdődy who led the defense in this battle became famous throughoutEurope. However this victory didn't prevent Sisak from Ottoman conquest on 24 August 1593. During their brief rule, it was calledSiska. Its fortress was manned, a sanjak beg was appointed and a mosque was built in the fortress.[18] On 11 August 1594, Ottoman forces fled and set the fortress on fire after a powerful Habsburg-Croat army approached.[19]
TheBaroque palace ofMali Kaptol, theclassicistVeliki Kaptol, the brickStari most ("Old Bridge") over the Kupa, and the ethnological park are the most frequently visited landmarks.
Sisak suffered much damage during the2020 Petrinja earthquake.[26] The town, located roughly 20 km (12 mi) northeast of the epicenter, reported damage to the hospital as well as city hall and variouschurches.[27][28] Most of the damage was inflicted on old buildings in the center of the town. However, early figures estimate that 700 to 1,000 homes were damaged in Sisak and nearby villages.[29]
In the 2011 census, of the total population of 47,768 there were 40,590Croats (84.97%), 3,071Serbs (6.43%), 1,646Bosniaks (3.45%), 648Romani (1.36%), 179Albanians (0.37%), 29Montenegrins (0.06%), and the rest were other ethnicities.
The administrative sections of Sisak are the city neighborhoods (gradske četvrti) and local administrative boards (mjesni odbori). The city neighborhoods are:[30]
Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating forminority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs.[31] In themost recent election to the Sisak ethnic minority council, the localBosniak,Roma, andSerb minorities each fulfilled the legal requirements to elect a total of 15 deputies to the minority council of the City of Sisak; while the localAlbanian minority elected a representative.[32]
Sisak features the largest metallurgic factory and the largest oil refinery inCroatia. Sisak has many rich mineral springs (spas) with healing properties in thetemperature range from 42 to 54 °C (108 to 129 °F).
Sports and recreation areas in the town and its surroundings are mainly rivers and alluvial plains. TheKupa,Odra, andSava rivers, with their headwaters, offer fishing opportunities; there is a public beach on the Kupa. There arehunting grounds in the regions ofTuropolje andPosavina. Sisak is the starting point for sightseeing tours intoLonjsko Polje (The Field of theLonja River) nature park. The localfootball club isHNK Segesta. Sisak features the oldest ice hockey club in Croatia,KHL Sisak, established in 1934.[citation needed]
The local chapter of theCroatian Mountaineering Society (HPS) isHPD "Gvozd", which had 61 members in 1936 under the Viktor Borovečki presidency. At the time, it had aski section.[33] Membership fell to 43 in 1937.[34]: 250 Membership fell to 41 in 1938.[35]: 249
Since records began in 1949, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station at an elevation of 98 metres (322 ft) was 40.0 °C (104.0 °F), on 24 August 2012.[36] The coldest temperature was −25.2 °C (−13.4 °F), on 12 January 1985.[37]
Climate data for Sisak (1971–2000, extremes 1949–2020)
Cresswell, Peterjon; Atkins, Ismay; Dunn, Lily (10 July 2006).Time Out Croatia (First ed.). London, Berkeley & Toronto: Time Out Group Ltd & Ebury Publishing,Random House Ltd. 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SV1V 2SA.ISBN978-1-904978-70-1. Retrieved10 March 2010.
