Klis
Encyclopedia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, located just northeast of Solin and Split near the eponymous mountain pass
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
. It has a population of 2,621, totalling 4,421 together with the eight other villages in its municipality (census 2001).
The Klis mountain pass separates the mountains Mosor
Mosor
Mosor is a mountain range in Croatia located near the town of Split on the Adriatic coast. It belongs to Dinaric Alps, and it stretches from the pass of Klis in the northwest to the Cetina River in the southeast....
and Kozjak
Mali Kozjak
Kozjak, also known as Mali Kozjak or Primorski Kozjak is a mountain located above the town of Kaštela in Dalmatia, Croatia....
at the altitude of 360m. It has had a major strategic value throughout history, because any inland force passing through Klis would have been able to easily reach the entire region of Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
and Kaštela
Kaštela
Kaštela is a series of seven towns in central Dalmatia, located northwest of Split, west of Solin and east of Trogir, in Croatia. They are part of the Split-Dalmatia county and are treated as a single city with a population of 38,474 , although they are individually between 3,000 and 7,000...
. During the Ottoman wars in Europe
Ottoman wars in Europe
The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...
, an already existing Roman fortress on a nearby hill was expanded into Klis Fortress
Klis Fortress
The Klis Fortress is a medieval fortress situated above a village bearing the same name, near the city of Split, in central Dalmatia, Croatia. From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, becoming a royal castle that was the seat of many Croatian kings, to...
. It was sanjak centre in Province of Bosnia
Bosnia Province, Ottoman Empire
The Bosnia Vilayet was an Ottoman vilayet, mostly based on the territory of the present-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as most of Slavonia, Lika and Dalmatia in present-day Croatia. It bordered Kosovo Vilayet to the south. Before the administrative reform in 1864, it was called the...
during Ottoman rule. Klis was also ruled by Kingdom of Bosnia, Venetian Republic and Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
.
Due to its geographical position, Klis is also susceptible to a rather strong bura wind.