Dalmatia - the southern Croatia

    The southern Croatia or Dalmatia is one of the oldest regional and geographical terms in this part of Europe. About 400 km long and 70 km wide, Dalmatia it is a long coastal belt of Croatia, surrounded by the mountains of Velebit, Dinara and Kamešnica. Dalmatia has an area of 12,103 km² with a population of 980,000 where the major economic generators are tourism, trade, production industry and agriculture.
   
    The name Dalmatia does not exist in the administrative sense today. Geographically it is divided into the northern, the central and the southern Dalmatia, and administratively into four counties: the Zadar county, the Šibenik-Knin county, the Split-Dalmatia county and the Dubrovnik-Neretva county.
   
    The climate is influenced by the Adriatic sea on one side and Dinara mountain on the other. Thus there are two types of climate: the Mediterranean in the coastal and mild continental in the inland (Zagora). The Mediterranean climate is known for clear, blue skies, and the large number of sunny days. The island of Hvar has  2718 sunny hours per year which is the highest average in Europe. The average temperatures in the coastal part are: 6ºC to 11ºC (43º F to 52º F) in January, 21ºC to 27ºC (70º F to 80º F) in August; the sea temperature is 12ºC (54º F) in the winter and 25ºC (77º F) in the summer period.
   
    Four out of eight Croatian national parks are situated in Dalmatia: NP Paklenica, NP Krka, NP Mljet Island and NP Kornati Islands. Furthermore, there are three nature parks in Dalmatia: the southern Velebit, Telašćica and Biokovo.
   
    When visiting Dalmatia you can decide on your own to what would you give an advantege; choose between ravishing beauties created by nature or the ones created by people through history.
Dalmatia abounds with cultural and historical monuments of the Mediterranean culture, ancient Roman period monuments, monuments from the early Middle Ages, Romanesque sacral heritage and a series of well-preserved urban units characteristic for the Mediterranean.
    
    Four out of six sites, that are protected by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage are located in Dalmatia: the Diocletian’s palace in Split, the cities of Dubrovnik and Trogir and St. Jacob’s cathedral in Šibenik.