| Sinjska alka | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date(s) | First Sunday in August |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Sinj, Croatia |
| Inaugurated | 1715 |
| Sinjska Alka, a knights' tournament in Sinj | |
|---|---|
| Country | Croatia |
| Criteria | R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.5 |
| Reference | 00357 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2010 (5th session) |
| List | Representative |
The Sinjska alka (Croatian pronunciation: [sîːɲskaː âːlka]) is an equestrian competition held in the Croatian town of Sinj every first Sunday in August since 1715.[1] It commemorates a Croatian–Venetian victory in the Ottoman–Venetian war on August 14, 1715, in which the local Christian population of around 700 Croats in cooperation with a smaller number of Venetians managed to defend Sinj against 60,000 Ottoman soldiers led by Mehmed-paša Ćelić.[2] Because of this victory, the Venetians retained control over Sinj and integrated it into the Venetian Dalmatia in accordance to the terms of the Treaty of Passarowitz signed in 1718.[3][4]
The people of Sinj believed that the Lady of Sinj miraculously drove away Ottomans, thus helping them to defend their town. On the national holiday of the Assumption of Mary (Velika Gospa) on August 15, in honor of Lady of Sinj, a procession is organised, during which horsemen in full regalia (Alkari) parade a painting of Our Lady of Sinj throughout the town streets.
The Alka itself is an equestrian competition in which various horsemen riding at full gallop aim their lances at a hanging metal ring (alka), and are awarded points according to which sector of the ring they are able to pierce. In 2010, the Alka was inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.[5]
- ^ "Sinjska alka". Viteško alkarsko društvo Sinj. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
- ^ Marković, Ivan (1898). "Giornale del blocco ed assedio della fortezza di Sign". Sinj i njegovo slavlje | god. 1887 | spomen knjiga su 11 slika (in Croatian). Dionička tiskara u Zagrebu.
- ^ Markovina, Dragan (2015-08-10). "Par važnih napomena o tome za koga su Sinjani ginuli 1715". telegram.hr. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
- ^ "Alka – Mit koji se obnavlja". Archived from the original on 2018-08-05. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
- ^ "UNESCO - Sinjska Alka, a knights' tournament in Sinj". Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-02-15.