| This broad irregularly shaped square is very much modern Šibenik’s focal point. It began life as the open space outside the town gates where horse races and archery contests would take place. The square’s most distinguished building is the stately ochre Šibenik Theatre, built in 1870 and patronized by Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph during his Dalmatian tour in 1875.
On the other side of the Poljana stands the boldly contemporary public library, a wedge of modern glass and steel built onto the side of a buttressed 16th-century bastion. Occupying a niche on the side of the bastion is a statue of the city’s protector, demon-slaying Archangel Michael. |