Prehistory Several stone weapons and tools discovered in Cetinska Krajina attest to the area's population dating back to the
Mesolithic. Many
caves and
dugouts contain evidence of later
Neolithic settlements. About 1000 years BC, the area was inhabited by the
Illyrian tribe
Dalmatae. They were settled in the area between the rivers of
Krka and
Cetina, where they clashed with the
Romans in the period of wars from 156 BC to 9 AD, ending with their complete defeat under the leadership of
Bato the Daesitiate. on the night of August 15, the Turks fled to
Livno. Contrary to popular belief, it appears that Venetian professional army units bore the majority of the burden in the conflict with Ottoman forces, rather than local fighters. The "Diary of the Siege of Sinj" is a written Venetian account of the events; no Turkish sources mentioning the siege or battle have been discovered thus far. To get to know the newly acquired properties, Austrian Emperor
Francis II takes a journey through Dalmatia in 1818, and visits Sinj. The people of Sinj use the opportunity to organize the tournament of Alka, which Francis II liked so much that he established a permanent annual financial support. Despite
Germanisation and Austrian bureaucracy, Sinj made significant progress under the Austrians. In the famous
Battle of the Neretva, nineteen-year-old Bruno Vuletić from Sinj commanded the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Dalmatian Brigade, some of which were the first to cross the collapsed bridge and attack the
Axis-aligned
Chetniks. On October 25, 1944, the town was liberated by the forces of the
20th Division of the Yugoslav Army. On April 22, 1945,
Ante Bakotić from Sinj led the escape of male prisoners from the
Jasenovac Concentration Camp, shortly before the end of WWII. Many of the 1,073 detainees at the time, including Bakotić, did not survive the flight.
Socialist Republic of Croatia Following WWII, there was extensive work to increase
literacy,
emancipate women, and accelerate
industrial development. Dalmatinka cotton processing factory was established in 1951, along with Trnovača agricultural plant, Cetinka factory, Naprijed wood processing company, and Autoprijevoz, a freight and bus transport company. Three hydroelectric plants were built along the Cetina river:
Peruća (1960),
Orlovac (1972), and Đale (1989). Comprehensive healthcare was established, and a health center with a maternity ward was built. A variety of sports, art, and technical clubs, as well as the town's scout organization, were formed. In 1959, the town's music school began offering lessons in
solfeggio,
piano,
violin, and
wind instruments. The city was rapidly expanding through planned construction, which began with housing for workers at the newly established megafactory Dalmatinka; the town's Olympic swimming pool was built in parallel with the building of the factory. == Demographics ==