Splitska riwiera

Poljica democracy

The highest ranking body in Poljica was the People’s Assembly, with representatives of different nationalities. This was vital when important decisions had to be made. Alongside the People’s Assembly, the executive power was held by the General Joint Council, composed of Poljica aristocrats and Katun princes. The Council elected the Poljica Duke beneath Gradac Hill in Gate, on St. George’s Day (the patron saint of Poljica). The Duke sat at the head of the Poljica Council.

The name Omiš

In antiquity, the village was to the north of its present location, in the hamlet of Baučići. It is thought that the name came from the Slavic River Holm or Hum, which was taken from the Illyrian Greek word onaion or oneon, meaning a hill, or hilly place. Oneum may have got its name from the Greek colonists’ name for the River Cetina, Nestos. In that case, it would have meant “place on the river”.