30/06/2022
Hiking: a look in the rearview mirror of Vodice’s past
The Path of History hiking trail reveals the chronology of the development of life as we know it today in the area of Vodice and its surroundings.
Thanks to the mild climate, walking along this path is possible throughout the year in:
- 15 km long and
- lasting three and a half hours.
Ptolemy’s Arauzona
The first step of this long walk you will take at the overpass in Prva Primorska četa street and head towards the church of St. Eliah The Prophet, built at the end of the 13th century in 1298. The church is a legacy of the inhabitants of the Pišća settlement, the peasants who once lived and worked in that area. Along the paths of vineyards and olive groves, you will reach the vaulted Roman cistern from the 1st-2nd century, which local people call “Ograženica”, and above it, you will see the Velika Mrdakovica hill, which hides the secret of the former Liburnian settlement. Historians assume that`s Ptolemy’s Arauzona, although we cannot say this with certainty. The settlement was built in the 8th/7th century BC, and it is assumed that it lost its role as a permanent place of residence for the population during the 2nd century AD when, under the influence of the Romans, life moved to more fertile, lowland areas.
Valuable Archaeological Site
The settlement was divided by streets and bordered by ramparts built of crushed stone. In addition to the rich finds of metal buckles, jewellery, old money, and fragments of glass and ceramics that are kept in the Museum of the City of Šibenik, the speciality of this site is the necropolis which gives historians an insight into the course and ritual of Liburnus burials. In addition, Velika Mrdakovica is an ideal backdrop for photography because the hill offers a view of Vodice, Šibenik, Zaton, Dinara, Velebit, Bribirska glavica, and the islands of the Šibenik archipelago.
Rakitnica Fort
If you follow the given route, after Liburnus and the Romans, you will head to what was once the largest settlement in the hinterland – Rakitnica. Near the settlement, the existence of which is evidenced by the remains of buildings made of dry stone, you will come across the church of St. John The Baptist, built-in 1445. Rakitnica was in the possession of Šibenik nobles who in 1509, under the threat of the Ottomans, joined forces with the villagers and built the Rakitnica fort. Today, the fort is quietly awaiting reconstruction, and a glance at it gives no idea of the fierce battles that have been fought there throughout history. Namely, Rakitnica was located on the line of defensive fortifications Pirovac – Dazlina – Rakitnica – Raslina – Zaton and protected Vodice and the hinterland during the Venetian-Ottoman wars. It fell into the hands of the Ottomans in 1571, and despite the attempts of the Christian army to seize Rakitnica, the Ottomans held it firmly until 1699, when they were expelled from the territory of the Šibenik commune.
Panoramic View of Vodice From Okit Hill
On the way back to the starting position, the hill of Okit awaits you with the church of Our Lady of Carmel and a panoramic view of Vodice. The church built on that site in the 17th century was destroyed twice in two wars – the Second World War and the Homeland War and was rebuilt according to the conceptual design of the architect Nikola Bašić.
You will round off this long walk, full of interesting details, by arriving at the same place where you started on your journey through Vodice history.
