63-A cycling tale
Kaštel Sućurac is the oldest Kaštela settlement, whose name is derived from the name of the church of St. George on Putalj, on the slopes of Kozjak. Putalj was the centre of an early medieval settlement, and the small church was built in 839 by Mislav, prince of Coastal Croatia (835 – 845). The pious ruler who ruled in the Church of St. George in Klis donated land and serfs, while to the Archdiocese of Split he gave a tenth of the fruits and animals from his Klis estate. In order to protect the peasants of the Putalj settlement, Split archbishop, Andrija Benzi (Gvaldo) built the oldest defensive tower in 1392, which he used to attract the population closer to the coast. The final form of the castle dates back to 1509. Kaštel Sućurac additionally has the best-preserved core of the old settlement with a labyrinth of stone streets. Kaštela also has its own Romeo and Juliet, whose grave is situated in St. John the Baptist’s church. Love at first sight flared up between Miljenko Rušinić and Dobrila Vitturi, but their fathers were at odds, so they met in secret. Their idyll was short-lived when their parents discovered and separated them, so Miljenko had the feeling thez want to marry Dobrila for another man and ran away from the doge’s service. However, the girl was then sent to a monastery, and the young man exiled to prison. They both managed to escape, but their meeting did not take place… This is a plot that would have intrigued even Shakespeare himself, but the story does not end there either, on the contrary, it gets even more complicated. The sad event took place on the very day of their wedding, but here we will leave you to discover the whole story on your own, and we will say goodbye to our castle trail with a happy ending. Just as in their historical past, Kaštilac and Kaštel Gomilica, were chosen among the most attractive locations in the world, and played important roles in the fifth season of the spectacular epic Game of Thrones and in so doing entered the list of cult locations of this mega-popular series.
Kaštel Stari
16,5m
2h
Technical characteristics
An easy road ride is an ideal opportunity to warm up before one of the most demanding climbs in this area. It starts at the 3rd kilometre and at 3.5 km rises vertically by 360 metres with very long sections and a slope of over 15%. Start this trail on an MTB or E-MTB, because you will run out of gears if you choose a different type of bike. A surface of coarse concrete will take you along the entire climb, later being joined by a stretch of fine macadam, which constantly and gently climbs all the way to the mountain lodge. After the mountain lodge, a 2km descent awaits you on fine macadam, and after a short ride on a flat section, the most demanding descent on this trail follows, which takes you down a rough and stony, but wide path towards the quarry. The more technically skilled cyclists will especially enjoy this descent due to the high speed and rough terrain. A very wide macadam path leads around the quarry, which joins the road in the last 1.5 km. We definitely recommend an MTB or E-MTB to overcome this trail, as the long and steep climb at the beginning will test even the most physically fit riders.