The town of Makarska developed in a naturally protected harbour, closed in by Osejava cape from the southeast, and St. Peter’s peninsula from the northwest. It has expanded in the last fifty or so years and connected with Veliko Brdo, Puharići, Batinići and Makar, settlements located at the foot of Biokovo crest. At the beginning of 2001, according to the official statistical figures, there were 13,716 inhabitants living in Makarska (335 in Veliko Brdo) or 4,484 households in 6,007 apartments. The town is rapidly being built and developed so the official estimate mentions 15–17 thousand of inhabitants. Today, it is a tourist centre with numerous hotels, villas and private accommodation, high quality and diverse catering offer, rich entertainment, sport and cultural attractions. Petar Kaer, a historian from Makarska, in his work assumes that the Phoenicians of Tyre founded the town around 1100 BC. Archaeological remains confirm that the today’s town originated at the site of a former Roman settlement that was located on the coastal road from Salona to Narona. According to the documents of the Synod of Salona on 4 May 533, Mucurum was the place where the diocese was founded. The settlement was mentioned in the 7th century as “Aronia id est Mucru”. A naval battle that happened on 18 September 887 when Venetian doge Peter Candian was defeated, which caused Venice to pay tribute money to the Neretva Principality for free sailing across the Adriatic is also related to Makarska. That day is celebrated in the Republic of Croatia as a Croatian Navy Day. After the weakening of the power of the Neretva Principality in the 13th century, princes of Bribir, Bosnian rulers, Hungarian and Croatian kings, Venice and the Turks alternate in the struggle for the rule. The name Makarska was actually for the first time mentioned in its present form in a document of Muhamed Musin, the town of Foča kadi. From that period (1572) is also the oldest graphic illustration of Makarska, which was made by Venetian cartographer G. F. Camuti. That illustration shows three towers surrounding the town, St. Peter’s church (14th century) and Franciscan Monastery, which celebrated 500 years of its activity last year.
Building monuments of Makarska and most works of art originate from the second half of the 17th century, the period in which the town, freed from the Turks, began developing its modern physiognomy. Makarska was annexed to Venice in 1681. Alberto Fortis, the Italian writer of travelogues, wrote about the physiognomy of Makarska during that period. The Franciscan Monastery was restored and expanded in the 18th century, and the construction of St. Mark’s cathedral began, which was consecrated in 1766. In 1797 Makarska belonged to Austria, and already in 1805 it fell under the French rule. An obelisk from that period, raised in honour of the French marshal Marmont is preserved and is now by the western entrance into the town. By the 1813, the year when Makarska again fell under the rule of Vienna, the French government had modernized educational system, economy and infrastructure.
The fact that remains noted is that the town women began wearing deep necklines during that period. Historian Petar Kaer mentions that the town of Makarska had the first public town library in the middle of the 18th century. The fact that the Croatian language was introduced into the public use on 23 October 1865 and that that day is celebrated as the Town Day is very important for the history of the town of Makarska. In 1890 at the main square a monument was erected to the poet, preacher and professor, writer of Latin, Italian and Croatian texts Father Andrija Kačiću Miošić (made by Ivan Rendić), whose 300th birth anniversary was at 2007. During the second half of the 19th century a lighthouse on St. Peter’s peninsula was erected (1884) as well as a classicist building above Kačić’s square comprising the Town Library, the Town Art Gallery of Antun Gojak, The Elementary Music School and local radio RMR. The Town Museum is located in Tonoli’s house on the coast, and the Malacological Museum in the Franciscan Monastery, together with the old Franciscan church (16th century) with a church-tower. One of a few monuments with public significance in Makarska is a late baroque style drinking fountain (1775) with a preserved engraved coat of arms of the town of Makarska. The preserved palace of Ivanišević family is also from that period. On the Small Coast there is a palace of the noble Kačić-Peko family from the end of the 19th century. There are several interesting sightseeing destinations at the foot of Biokovo, particularly villages of Veliko Brdo, Makar and Kotišina, due to sacral monuments such as the shrine of Vepric and the Botanic Garden in Kotišina. The most valuable monument in Makar is St. Ivan’s (John’s) church (1854), in Veliko Brdo parish church of St. Jerome (1745), and in Kotišina remains of St. Martin’s church (14th century), small St. Andrija’s (Andrew’s) church (17th century) and remains of Kašteli under the cliffs in the Botanical Garden. Biokovo Mountain is a very interesting resort, appropriate both for serious hiking and getting to know diverse plant and animal worlds, under the care of the Nature Park, hunting clubs and mountaineers. Ferry connects Makarska with the island of Brač, and numerous excursion boats with other islands of central Dalmatia.