Split-Dalmatia County (Croatian:Splitsko-dalmatinskažupanija[splîtsko-dalmǎtiːnskaːʒupǎnija]) is a central-southernDalmatian county inCroatia. The administrative center isSplit. The population of the county is 455,242 (2011). The land area is 4.540 km2,[4] the total area is 14.106,40 km2.[5]Split-Dalmatia County is Croatia's most rapidly urbanising and developing region, as economic opportunities and living standards are among the highest alongside capitalZagreb andIstria County.
Physically, the county is divided into three main parts: an elevated hinterland (Dalmatinska zagora) with numerouskarst fields; a narrow coastal strip with high population density; and the islands. Parts of theDinaric Alps, includingDinara itself, form the border withBosnia and Herzegovina while the Kozjak, Mosor andBiokovo mountains separate the coastal strip from the hinterland.
Important economic activities include agriculture, manufacturing and fishing, though the most important one is tourism.
The county is linked to the rest of Croatia by the newly built four-laneSplit-Zadar-Karlovac-Zagreb highway and theLika railway.Split Airport is the busiest airport in the region.
In the hinterland, the larger towns areSinj (pop. 11,500 town, 25,373 with villages),Imotski (4,350) andVrgorac (2,200).
Besides the largest city,Split (189,000 city proper, 250,000 includingKaštela andSolin), the towns on the coast areTrogir (11,000),Omiš (6,500) andMakarska (13,400).
On the islands, the populations are smaller due to high levels of emigration, but are still mostly urban in character. The main townships are:Supetar (3,300) on the island ofBrač;Hvar town (3,700) andStari Grad (1,900) onHvar; andVis town (1,800) andKomiža (1,500) onVis.
The nameDalmatia comes from anIllyrian tribe called theDalmatae who inhabited the area of the easternAdriatic coast in the 1st millennium BC. It was part of theIllyrian kingdom from the 4th century BC until theIllyrian Wars in the 220s BC and 168 BC when theRoman Republic established its protectorate south of the riverNeretva. Dalmatia as a geographical name was in use probably from the second half of the 2nd century BC for the area spanning the eastern Adriatic coast between theKrka and Neretva rivers.[6][7] It was slowly incorporated into Roman possessions until the province ofIllyricum was formally established c. 32–27 BC.
Dalmatia became part of the Roman province ofIllyricum. In 9 AD, the Dalmatians raised the final ofa series of revolts[8] together with thePannonians, but it was finally crushed, and in 10 AD, Illyricum was split into two provinces,Pannonia andDalmatia which spread into larger area inland to cover all of theDinaric Alps and most of the eastern Adriatic coast.[9] Dalmatia was the birthplace of the Roman EmperorDiocletian, who constructedDiocletian's Palace in the core of what is now Split.[10]
Split-Dalmatia County is divided into 16 cities and 39 municipalities. Note that both cities and municipalities are administrative divisions immediately under the county, on the same level.
Split-Dalmatia County has the 5th highest Human Development Index of any county in Croatia.Before privatisation and accession to European Union, beside tourism the most notable branch wasShipbuilding.County now relies on tourism as main source of income.
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