Makarska | |||||||
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City | |||||||
Makarska
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Location of Makarska in Croatia | |||||||
Coordinates: 43°18′N 17°02′E / 43.300°N 17.033°ECoordinates: 43°18′N 17°02′E / 43.300°N 17.033°E | |||||||
Country | Croatia | ||||||
County | Split-Dalmatia | ||||||
Government | |||||||
• Mayor | Tonći Bilić (SDP) | ||||||
• City Council |
17 members
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Area | |||||||
• Total | 28 km2 (11 sq mi) | ||||||
Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | ||||||
Population (2011) | |||||||
• Total | 13,834 | ||||||
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||||||
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||||||
Postal code | 21300 | ||||||
Area code(s) | 021 | ||||||
Website | makarska.hr |
Makarska (pronounced [mâkarskaː]) is a small city on the Adriatic coastline of Croatia, about 60 km (37 mi) southeast of Split and 140 km (87 mi) northwest of Dubrovnik. It has a population of 13,834 residents. Administratively Makarska has the status of a city and it is part of the Split-Dalmatia County.
Makarska is a tourist centre, located on a horseshoe shaped bay between the Biokovo mountains and the Adriatic Sea. The city is noted for its palm-fringed promenade, where cafes, bars and boutiques overlook the harbour. Adjacent to the beach are several large capacity hotels as well as a camping ground.
The center of Makarska is an old town with narrow stone-paved streets, a main church square where there is a flower and fruit market, and a Franciscan monastery that houses a sea shell collection featuring a giant clam shell.
Makarska is the center of the Makarska Riviera, a popular tourist destination under the Biokovo mountain. It stretches for 60 km (37 mi) between the towns of Brela and Gradac.
Its former cathedral of Saint Mark was the see of the former Roman Catholic Diocese of Makarska which was merged in 1828 into the Diocese of Split-Makarska.
Near present-day Makarska, there was a settlement as early as the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. It is thought that it was a point used by the Cretans on their way up to the Adriatic (the so-called "amber road"). However it was only one of the ports with links with the wider Mediterranean, as shown by a copper tablet with Cretan and Egyptian systems of measurement.