From duel to legend, a story carved into the heart of the Cetina region.
Meet the Sinj Alka,
the Museum that preserves its story, and
the Society that has kept it alive for three centuries.
Lance, gallop, three tilts.
Every year, on the first Sunday of August, Sinj returns to the year 1715. Alka riders at full gallop aim their lance at an iron ring only 13 centimeters in diameter, renewing the vow their ancestors made after the victory over the Ottomans.
The Sinj Alka is the only chivalric competition of its kind in Europe that has been preserved and continuously held. Since 2010, it has been protected on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. But for the people of Sinj, it has never been just a game — rather, a measure of honor, integrity, and belonging.
Seven hundred defenders repel the Ottoman attack on Sinj. In honor of the victory and Our Lady of Sinj, a chivalric game is established that continues to this day.
The Sinj Alka is inscribed on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — as the only chivalric competition of its kind in Europe.
For the 300th anniversary of the Alka, the Museum of the Sinj Alka opens in the renovated Alkar Manor. Winner of the Europa Nostra award for cultural heritage.
Behind every Alka stands the Chivalric Alka Society — an association that organizes the competition, preserves the alkar uniforms and horses, and passes the tradition down from generation to generation. Volunteers, alkars, and young men — a community that lives for one day of the year, yet devotes all 365 to it.
