Dalmatia

Dalmacija

photography — Dalmatinski kamenjar, karren field, Dalmatia. Public Domain.

The region Dalmacija (Dalmatia) is a historic region, it has no relevance in modern times. But the term Dalmatia is still widely used, and it means the Croatian coastline. So people who spend their holidays in Croatia typically go to Dalmatia, because it’s the summer bathing area. So you will find the term everywhere, just not on your map.

During the Roman empire the Provine Dalmatia was much bigger than today, it included a part of Istria, Slovenia, the whole Croatia but even modern Bosnia and down to Albania. Borders changed numerous times since then. The modern term of Dalmatia corresponds actually with the Kingdom of Dalmatia which existed within Austria-Hungary until 1918. That’s the "good ole times", which never existed, but everybody knows about them.

Historically Croatia had four regions, they were named Croatia proper, Slavonia, Istria, and, you guessed it, Dalmatia. Today they are administratively organized into twenty counties.

The historical region of Dalmatia actually corresponds with four modern counties, more or less. The reason is simply the geography, the region is bordered by the sea and mountain ranges. Just at the northern end of the region, the border differs a little from the modern political border. So here are the four modern counties: