History of Sucuraj
4. SUCURAJ IN THE TIME OF VENICE – TURK WARS
The
Venetians dominated the island Hvar from 1420 to 1797. The second half of the
15th century is the most difficult part of the history of Sucuraj. After the
full of Bosnia,
Turks occupied from 1464 to 1482 the Neretva valley, Makarska coast and came to
the doors of Sucuraj. Sucuraj became the eastern end of the Venice republic. On the coast where the
Turks, peninsula Peljesac were under the Republic of Dubrovnik,
so Sucuraj was between three countries (click here for historical map - 168 KB).
Sucuraj was under blows from the Turks armed-ships from Neretva and the coast,
while the other places on island Hvar where not attacked. In these hard times,
Sucuraj was robbed and burnt three times. The first time was in 1526, evidence
of that is in the oldest saved document in the monastery archive dated
26.04.1526. The citizens were killed, taken as slaves, while some escaped. From
a developed port-town, Sucuraj became devastated. Everything started from
nothing. The renovation of the village started, some of the citizens came back,
and new inhabitants arrived fledging from Turk attacks on the coast. The second
time the Turks robbed and burnt Sucuraj in 1539, after the people from Sucuraj
with Omis pirates and Senj ''uskoks'' started active piratical actions. Pirate
actions became a constant way of opposing the Turks and the Dubrovnik Republic.
After 1539 the reconstruction 
of
Sucuraj starts again, and admission of new settlers feeding from Turks. In
April 1570 1000 ''uskok'' and ''hajduk'' fighters gathered in Sucuraj and with
50 various vessels and 1 Venice
galiq left to attack the Turks in Neretva valley but they did not succesed.
After this came the deadfull 1571 when the Turks attacked Korcula, Stari Grad,
Vrbovska and Jelsa. On the day 07.10.1571. Took place the big sea-battle of
Lepant in which the Christian flote defeated the Turks, this became a turning-point
in the war and the end of Turk prevail on the Mediterranean
Sea. Several fighters from Sucuraj took part in this battle. At
the same time Turks from Neretva attacked undefended Sucuraj, burnt down for
the third time the monastery and village, killed or took as slaves the citizens
who did not escape. After these three devastations and killings the old
inhabitants of Sucuraj vanished. Sucuraj is in ruins, all the houses in Gornja
Banda and the new ones in Donja Banda (peninsula Gubavac) whose colonization
started in 16th century.
Sucuraj is rebuilding for the third time, new inhabitants are arriving from the
coast, fleding from Turks. After this devastation the Venice administration ordered the building of
a fortress (fortica) to protect the harbour and village. Fortica (pic. right)
was built in 1613, and finish in 1635. It had 10 canons and a regular military
crew. Life in Sucuraj became safer. Donja Banda in now more occupied than
before, and the houses in Gornja Banda are rebuilt. The 17th century was gold
age of Sucuraj history. In that time the village became an urban town with all
necessary buildings and a big harbour (pic. up left). In this century Sucuraj
had 4 churches and 3 monasteries. The population coming from areas under Turk
occupation came with Francis priestess. As the coast was under Turks the bishop
of Makarska fra Bartul Kacic Zarkovic took care of his flok from Sucuraj. He
built a palace (Bishop's palace) ruined in the 2nd world war (pic. 8 and 9).
Bishop
fra Bartul died in 1645 and was buried in the old church St. Geroge. The death
of the bishop the people of Sucuraj lost the popular spiritual and national
leader, creator of modern Sucuraj. In the hall of the new St. George church is
a monumental plate (pic. 6)
written in ''bosanica'' (a kind of glagoljica – old Croatian writing), which
was put up in the honour of the bishop in 1655, by the duke Petar Kulusic – a
Sucuraj-warrior, legendary leader of all pirate, hajduk and uskok units in
Krajina and on Hvar. The Francis priestess from Zaostrog built in 1663 the
baroc church of St. Anthony (pic. left), which still
exists. In 28.04.1664. The Turks attacked Sucuraj and captured 12 men, but the
people of Sucuraj made a counter-attack and liberated the captives and captured
some Turk soldiers. After this the Turks never came to Sucuraj again and the
economic evolution of Sucuraj began. In the 18th century the glory and economic
power of Venice falls so the market goes from
the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and India, so it is an economic
stagnation in Sucuraj.
Click here to go back to mediaeval Sucuraj
Click here if you want to know more about Sucuraj in the
time of Austria, France and Austrian-Hungarian empire
SUCURAJ HOMEPAGE