CROATIAN TOWNS 2001 - MAKARSKA

The stamp has been issued in a 50-stamp sheet. Motif: Panorama of the city with the central square, St. Mark's Cathedral and the monument of Andrija Kačić Miošić The city of Makarska, a port in central Dalmatia and the tourist centre of the Makarska riviera, is situated on the coastal road, the Adriatic Highway. It is placed in a naturally protected port, closed to the southeast by the cape Osejava, to the northwest by the peninsula St. Peter. The city widens amphitheatrically towards the slopes of the mountain range Biokovo. The first mention of Makarska is linked to the ancient settlement Inaronia, a station on the coastal road Salona - Narona, as early as the first half of the 4th century. Somewhat later, in 553, in the acts of the assembly in Salona, the settlement Muccrum is mentioned, where the bishopric was founded. There was a hill-fort settlement built on the St. Peter's peninsula, and at the top there was a fortification from the late antiquity period, with a fortress. In the course of the 7th century the area between the Cetina River and the Neretva River, including the settlement Muccrum, was conquered by Croatian tribes and they founded the Neretva principality. In the centuries that followed, in on-going power struggles, there was a constant change of those in power; the princes of Bribir, rulers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungarian and Croatian kings and Venice. On account of its extremely favourable position, Makarska was in the centre of the clashes of Venetian and Turkish interests. In the long period between 1498 and 1646, Makarska was ruled by the Turks. This is the time when Makarska became a fortified city with three fortresses connected by defence walls the constructor of which was probably Ayrudin, the master builder of the Mostar bridge. In 1581 Makarska was annexed to Venice and under the century-long Venetian rule the foundations of the future typically Mediterranean city were built. On account of its beauty, urban order and natural favourable conditions, Makarska became a tourist destination at the very beginning of the 20th century. In the continuity of the outstanding cultural tradition of the city, the centre square - presented on this postage stamp- in the sixties was designed by the architect Olga Pavlinović. Her understanding and creative interpretation of the heritage has made this town square the most beautiful example of the Croatian urbanism of the second half of the 20th century. Today, thanks to the tourism, the city of Makarska is in the process of modernising its infrastructure, economy, health care and the tourist-catering industry, and has enriched its sportsrecreational and cultural offer. The mountain of Biokovo, rising above Makarska, creates a memorable landscape, breaking its rocks and carrying torrents, reaching the sea where they from quiet strands and wonderful pebbled beaches of the Makarska riviera. Makarska has retained its luxurious beauty, with the mountain touching the sea, thanks to the balanced cohabitation of man and nature.