City Europe
Split
Split is a port city in Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. Its old town grew up inside an ancient Roman palace.
Split is a port on Croatia's Adriatic coast. Larousse says the city was born inside the huge walls of a palace that the Roman emperor Diocletian built around the year 300. Its historic center has been a World Heritage Site since 1979, and Croatia's 2021 census counted 149,830 people in Split.
Split grew out of the quadrangular enclosure of Diocletian's palace, built around 300 (Larousse; UNESCO: late 3rd to early 4th century); the historic complex was inscribed in 1979. Census 31 August 2021: 149,830 in the settlement of Split, Croatia's second city.
Photo: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Split
Split is a city in Croatia, right by the sea. It is the second-biggest city in Croatia.
Its old town is very, very old. Part of it was once a Roman palace!
Split is a port on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, Larousse says. Its old center, with the remains of a Roman emperor's palace, was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1979.
Croatia's census of 31 August 2021 counted 149,830 people in the settlement of Split, making it the second-largest city in the country.
Larousse: a port of Croatia on the Adriatic coast. UNESCO: 'Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian', inscribed 1979, criteria (ii), (iii) and (iv), property 20.8 ha.
Croatian Bureau of Statistics via City Population (settlement of Split, not the wider city municipality): census 2001 175,140; census 2011 167,121; census 31 August 2021 149,830 (rank 2 in Croatia, after Zagreb).
- Country
- Croatia (a port on the Adriatic coast)
- People in Split (census, 31 August 2021)
- 149,830
- Rank
- Croatia's second-largest city in the 2021 census
- World Heritage
- Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian, inscribed in 1979 (UNESCO)
Boats at the harbor
In this photo, white boats rest in a calm harbor. Behind them are palm trees, buildings with orange roofs and a tall tower. Big gray mountains rise far behind.
This photo shows the ferry port of Split on 22 July 2019, looking across the calm blue water. Several large white boats and a sailing ship with two masts are tied up along the waterfront. Behind them stand palm trees, pale buildings with orange-red roofs and a tall pale tower, with bare gray mountains in the distance.
Larousse says Diocletian's palace had a grand facade along the sea and strong walls with square towers on its three land sides.
Commons: 'Ferry Port of Split, Croatia', Flickr photo by dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 (FlickreviewR passed), taken 22 July 2019; Commons categories name four of the boats (Judita, Naranča, Polaris, Vida).
Larousse: the most important monument of Split is Diocletian's palace, the only Roman palace whose walls partly remain; it had a sumptuous facade along the sea and mighty walls with square towers on its three land sides. Wikidata: Diocletian's Palace (Q322287), 0.25 km SSW of the city point.
- Photo
- the ferry port of Split, 22 July 2019, by dronepicr
- Diocletian's Palace
- ruins of the palace, built between the late 3rd and the early 4th century, are found throughout the city (UNESCO)
- The palace's sea side
- a grand facade along the sea, and strong walls with square towers on the three land sides (Larousse)
A city inside a palace
Long, long ago, a Roman emperor built a huge palace by the sea. Later, people moved inside its walls and turned the palace into a town.
Larousse says a small village stood here at the start of the Common Era, about 2,000 years ago. Around the year 300, the Roman emperor Diocletian had a palace built on the spot. Later, people from the nearby Roman town of Salona moved inside the palace's huge four-sided walls, and the palace was turned into a town: the city of Split was born.
UNESCO says the ruins of the palace can still be found all through the city, among Romanesque churches of the 12th and 13th centuries, medieval walls and later palaces.
Larousse: near ancient Salona (today Solin) stood a small village of Illyrians and Greek colonists at the start of the Common Era; around 300 the emperor Diocletian had his palace built there; the city of Split was born of the palace's vast quadrangular enclosure, where the inhabitants of Salona settled; the palace was transformed into a town.
UNESCO: the ruins of Diocletian's Palace, built between the late 3rd and early 4th centuries AD, are found throughout the city; 12th- and 13th-century Romanesque churches, medieval fortifications, 15th-century Gothic palaces and other Renaissance and Baroque palaces make up the rest of the protected area.
- Around 300
- the Roman emperor Diocletian had his palace built here (Larousse)
- The city is born
- people from nearby Salona settled inside the palace walls, and the palace became a town (Larousse)
- Later buildings
- 12th- and 13th-century Romanesque churches, medieval walls, and Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque palaces (UNESCO)
Ships, trains and the waterfront
Boats come and go from Split's harbor. Trains stop at a station near the city center.
Larousse calls Split a port on Croatia's Adriatic coast, and the photo on this page shows its ferry port, with boats lined up along the waterfront.
Wikidata places Split's railway station about 0.6 kilometer south-southeast of the city's center point, and Diocletian's Palace about 0.25 kilometer south-southwest. Larousse says the palace's grand facade ran along the sea.
Larousse: a port of Croatia on the Adriatic coast. Commons: the photo is titled 'Ferry Port of Split, Croatia'.
Wikidata (from the city point Q1663): Split railway station (Q2281143) 0.64 km SSE; Diocletian's Palace (Q322287) 0.25 km SSW.
- Port
- a port of Croatia on the Adriatic (Larousse)
- Split railway station
- about 0.6 km from the city's Wikidata point (Wikidata)
- The palace by the sea
- the palace had a grand facade along the sea (Larousse)
Hot, dry summers and wet winters
Split has hot summers with little rain. Winters are mild, and the rainiest months are November and December.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Split show hot summers: in July the average daily high is 29.8 °C. In January it is 10.2 °C, with average lows of 5.3 °C.
July is the driest month, with 27.6 millimeters of rain. November is the wettest, with 111.9 millimeters, about four times as much. The twelve months add up to about 806 millimeters.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Split (Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service). The data give no averaging period (every period field is blank; dubrovnik precedent). Mean daily maximum 10.2 °C (Jan) to 29.8 °C (Jul); mean daily minimum 5.3 °C (Jan) to 21.6 °C (Jul). Precipitation 27.6 mm (Jul) to 111.9 mm (Nov); December 105.1 mm; sum of the months 806.2 mm. Mean rain days 5.2 (Aug) to 12.7 (Dec).
- Average daily highs (WMO, Split)
- 10.2 °C (January) to 29.8 °C (July)
- Average daily lows (same table)
- 5.3 °C (January) to 21.6 °C (July)
- Wettest month
- November, 111.9 mm
Museums, writers and sculptors
Split has many museums. One of them is more than 200 years old! Another one shows a famous sculptor's artworks.
Larousse says Split has many museums, including the Archaeological Museum, founded in 1820. The great sculptor Ivan Meštrović gave his works to a gallery in the Meštrović palace.
In the 1500s, a group of scholars gathered around the writer Marko Marulić. His poem 'Judita', written in 1501, is one of the very first modern works of Croatian literature.
Larousse: Split is an important center of Croatian civilization; in the 16th century a circle of humanists formed around Marko Marulić (Larousse spells it Marco; Wikidata Q336571 'Marko Marulić'; 1450-1524), a Latin and Croatian writer whose poem 'Judita' (written 1501, printed 1521) is one of the very first modern works of Croatian letters; the 20th century gave the sculptors Toma Rosandić and Ivan Meštrović and the painter Emanuel Vidović; museums include the Archaeological Museum (founded 1820) and the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments (1893); the Meštrović palace holds the gallery formed from the sculptor's donation. Wikidata: Archaeological Museum Split (Q598800) 0.76 km NW; Meštrović Gallery and Meštrović Atelier complex (Q65146000) 1.87 km WSW.
- Archaeological Museum
- founded in 1820 (Larousse)
- Marko Marulić (1450–1524)
- a writer in Latin and Croatian, whose poem 'Judita' is among the first modern works of Croatian literature (Larousse)
- Ivan Meštrović (1883–1962)
- a famous sculptor; a gallery of his work is in the Meštrović palace (Larousse)
Split on the map
Find Croatia on the globe. Split is on its long coast, by the Adriatic Sea.
Split lies at about 43.5° north and 16.4° east, on Croatia's Adriatic coast.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, Diocletian's Palace is about 0.25 kilometer south-southwest, the railway station about 0.6 kilometer south-southeast, the Archaeological Museum about 0.8 kilometer northwest and the Meštrović Gallery about 1.9 kilometers west-southwest.
Split lies at about 43.51° N and 16.44° E (Wikidata point Q1663; the Natural Earth/sheet point is 2.68 km from it). From the Wikidata point: Diocletian's Palace (Q322287) 0.25 km SSW; Split railway station (Q2281143) 0.64 km SSE; Archaeological Museum Split (Q598800) 0.76 km NW; Meštrović Gallery and Meštrović Atelier complex (Q65146000) 1.87 km WSW.
- Latitude
- about 43.5° north
- Longitude
- about 16.4° east
- Sea
- the Adriatic (Larousse)
Amazing facts
-
Split began inside the walls of a Roman palace!
Larousse says people from nearby Salona settled inside Diocletian's palace, and the palace was turned into the town of Split.
Larousse: the city of Split was born of the vast quadrangular enclosure of Diocletian's palace, where the inhabitants of Salona settled; the palace was transformed into a town.
-
One of the boats in this page's photo is named Judita, like a famous old Croatian poem!
Commons names one of the boats in the photo 'Judita'. Larousse says 'Judita', a poem written by Marko Marulić in 1501, is one of the first modern works of Croatian literature.
Commons category 'Judita (ship, 1990)' on the photo; Larousse: Marulić's poem 'Judita' (written 1501, printed 1521). The page does not claim the boat was named after the poem.
-
In Split, November gets about four times as much rain as July.
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages, November brings Split 111.9 millimeters of rain and July just 27.6 millimeters.
WMO averages for Split: November 111.9 mm, July 27.6 mm, a ratio of about 4.1.
Words to know
- emperor
- the ruler of an empire, such as the Roman Empire
- palace
- a very large and grand house for a ruler
- port
- a town or place by the water where ships load and unload
- ruins
- what is left of old buildings that have partly fallen down
- sculptor
- an artist who makes statues and other shapes from stone, metal or wood
- census
- an official count of all the people in a country
Discovery challenge
-
Split is by which sea?
Split is a port on which sea?
Larousse calls Split a port of Croatia on which coast?
- The Adriatic
- The Baltic
- The Caspian
Show the answer
The Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea!
The Adriatic Sea.
The Adriatic.
-
Who built the old palace in Split?
Which Roman emperor had a palace built at Split around the year 300?
Split grew from the enclosure of which Roman emperor's palace?
- Diocletian
- Julius Caesar
- Charlemagne
Show the answer
Diocletian
Diocletian, a Roman emperor!
Diocletian.
Diocletian.
-
In which year did Split's old center become a World Heritage Site?
In which year did UNESCO add Split's historic center and palace to the World Heritage List?
UNESCO inscribed the 'Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian' in which year?
- 1979
- 1820
- 2021
Show the answer
1979
1979!
1979.
1979.
-
People from which nearby town moved inside the palace walls?
According to Larousse, people from which nearby Roman town settled inside the palace?
Larousse: the inhabitants of which ancient town settled in Diocletian's palace enclosure?
- Salona
- Venice
- Athens
Show the answer
Salona
Salona, a town close by!
Salona.
Salona (today Solin).
-
Which month is the driest in Split?
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages, which month gets the least rain in Split?
WMO averages for Split: which month has the least precipitation, 27.6 mm?
- July
- November
- January
Show the answer
July
July!
July.
July (27.6 mm).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Split on Croatia's Adriatic coast.
- Explain how a town can grow inside an older building.
- Describe what a World Heritage Site protects.
- Read a climate table with dry summers and wet winters.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- What would it be like to live inside the walls of an old palace?
- Why might people move from one town to a safer place nearby?
- Why do some places get most of their rain in winter?
Try at home or in class
- Palace town: draw a big square palace with walls and towers, then fill it with little houses and streets.
- Rain bars: make a bar chart of Split's monthly rain and find the dry summer months.
- Time math: the palace was built around the year 300. About how many years ago is that?
Key vocabulary: emperor, palace, port, ruins, sculptor, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Split , Encyclopédie Larousse
- Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Croatia: Counties and Major Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics
- Split: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Ferry Port of Split, Croatia (48693924822).jpg (dronepicr, July 2019) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.