Eleven Croatian Cities from the Istrian Coast to Slavonia

Pula, in western Croatia, is the largest city in Istria County and the seventh largest in the country, with 52,220 people in 2021. It keeps the Pula Arena, one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters, and it was the administrative centre of Istria from Roman times until Pazin took that role in 1991.

Rijeka is Croatia's principal seaport and third largest city, where the Rjecina river meets Kvarner Bay. Its recorded population was 107,964 in 2021, and Pliny the Elder first mentioned it in the first century AD as Tarsatica in his Natural History.

Zadar, historically Zara, is described as the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia and sits in the Ravni Kotari region on the Adriatic. It is the seat of Zadar County, and its 2021 population was 70,779.

Šibenik stands where the river Krka meets the Adriatic and is the centre of Šibenik-Knin County. It was first mentioned on Christmas 1066 in a grant of Peter Krešimir IV, which is why it is also called Krešimir's Town; the town had 31,115 inhabitants in 2021.

Split is the second largest city in Croatia and the largest on the coast, with 160,577 people. The city grew up around Diocletian's Palace and has a continuous urban tradition of more than seventeen centuries.

Supetar lies on the northern coast of the island of Brač and is the island's largest settlement, with a 2021 population of 4,325. It grew in the sixteenth century from a harbour used by people from inland Nerežišća, and it is reachable by ferry from Split.

Dubrovnik, historically Ragusa, lies in southern Dalmatia and had 41,562 residents in 2021. UNESCO inscribed its Old City as a World Heritage Site in 1979 in recognition of its medieval architecture and fortifications.

Sinj lies in the Cetina river valley in the Dalmatian hinterland at 326 metres above sea level, with 23,452 people in 2021. It is known for the Sinjska Alka, a centuries-old equestrian tournament recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.

Knin, near the source of the Krka, is a junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, with 11,633 people. It was capital of the medieval Kingdom of Croatia and, from 1991 to 1995, of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina.

Osijek is the largest city and economic and cultural hub of Slavonia, on the southern bank of the Drava 25 kilometres upstream from its confluence with the Danube. It is the fourth largest city in Croatia, with 96,313 people recorded in the 2021 census.

Bjelovar in central Croatia was founded in the eighteenth century as a planned military settlement of the Habsburg Military Frontier, and Wikidata dates its inception to 1756. It is laid out around a large central square and had 36,316 people in 2021.