Croatia celebrates 300-year long tradition of Alka

Croatia held the 300th Sinjska Alka tournament, a knightly competition listed on UNESCO' intangible cultural heritage, on Sunday in Sinj, a small town about 400 km south of the capital city of Zagreb.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, several cabinet ministers and other senior officials attended the event.

The tournament, held every first Sunday in August every year in the town of Sinj in southern Croatia since 1717, commemorates a victory on Aug. 14, 1715 by 700 Sinj's defenders against 60,000 Ottoman Turks.

At the competition the Alkars (horsemen) ride at full gallop and aim their 3 metres long lances at Alka, an iron ring hung on a rope above the race track. The one, who collects the highest points through three races is the winner.

The Sinjska Alka tournament was inscribed in UNESCO's world intangible cultural heritage list in 2010.

One day before the tournament, an Alka Museum was opened in Sinj by Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic.

Alka Knights Association President, Stipe Jukic, said the opening of the museum made the dream of generations of Sinj and the region came true. For many years they hoped there was a place for displaying the richness of the Alka tradition.

"This is not just a museum of our history, but also of our future. The museum would promote the cultural tourism and economic development for the region," he said.

The museum, invested 90 million kuna (around 14 million U.S. dollars), covers an area of 700 square meters and shows history of Alka, original costumes, equipment and flags, as well as audiovisual. The special attractions are a life-size display of Alka procession and a scene of battle in Sinj in 1715.

During the event, a 300-page monography of Alka tournament of Sinj, with stories, photos and maps was published. Endit