Hajduk's birthday on 13 February

Why is Hajduk's birthday on 13 February?

Because the club was officially registered on 13 February 1911. The idea was born in a Prague pub, but the club was founded in Split.

The story starts with four students from Split studying in Prague: Fabjan Kaliterna, Lucijan Stella, Ivan Šakić and Vjekoslav Ivanišević. After a Sparta v Slavia match they went to U Fleků, a centuries-old Prague beer hall, and decided Split needed a club like that. Their old teacher Josip Barač gave them the name: a hajduk was an outlaw who fought Ottoman rule, which he said stood for the best in the people.

The paperwork went through the imperial authorities in Zadar, then the seat of Dalmatia's government, and the club was registered on 13 February 1911, per Hajduk's history and Index.hr. "Founded in Prague" is a common line in guidebooks. It is half right. The beer was in Prague; the club is from Split.

How does Split celebrate Hajduk's birthday?

With midnight flares, flags and scarves around town, memorial wreaths at Poljud, and club events that change from year to year.

The fixed point is midnight. In 2020 Torcida marked the 109th birthday with flares on the rooftops of the Pujanke tower blocks at the stroke of midnight, Net.hr reported, and the group threw a party that ran into the morning. The club side is quieter: wreaths at the memorial plaque by the north stand, and in 2026 a retro kit.

What else happens depends on the year. Here is what the sources record.

What happened at Hajduk's centenary in 2011?

The whole city lit up. More than 3,000 flares burned at midnight, fireworks went up over Split, and Slavia Prague came to Poljud for a friendly.

UEFA counted more than 3,000 flames around the city at midnight, and tportal wrote that the glow could be seen from the mountains around Split. Banners hung from every street. The choice of opponent was a nod to the founders: Slavia Prague, the club whose derby had sent four students to U Fleků. Slavia won 2-0, which nobody remembers.

Big round numbers bring big parties. The 116th is not one of them, so expect something closer to the recent years than to 2011.

Is there a match or an open day at Poljud on 13 February 2027?

The HNL lists Hajduk v Osijek at Poljud for round 22, dated 13 February 2027. The club had not announced a birthday open day for 2027 as of 26 October 2026.

The league's fixture list gives a Saturday date for every round, and the final day and kick-off come later. If the game stays on the 13th, expect Torcida to mark it in the stands. Buying works as for any league game: members first, then free sale on match day, all through the club. Note that a 2026 membership will not cover February; 2027 memberships had not gone on sale yet.

The open stadium is the other thing to watch. In 2025 the club invited everyone in for free from 19:11, the minute picked to match the founding year, for a tour of the atrium, the White Salon, the trophy halls, the VIP box and the pitch, as Visit Split listed it. If the 2027 programme repeats that, it will appear on visitsplit.com and hajduk.hr in early February. If it doesn't, the regular stadium tour covers the same rooms any day it runs.

What is Torcida's role on Hajduk's birthday?

Torcida opens it. The supporters' group lights the midnight flares, decorates the city with flags and often stages a display at the next game.

Torcida was founded in 1950 and is widely described as one of Europe's oldest organised supporters' groups. It celebrates its own birthday in late October with the same tools. In 2026 Hajduk played away at Osijek two days after the birthday, and the group's display came there, with a banner in Split dialect saying that kings and emperors die but Hajduk stays, per Index.hr.

A practical word: flares are banned in Croatian stadiums, and UEFA has just closed Poljud for a European game over them. Watch from a balcony or the far side of a square, not from inside the smoke. Families will be happier at the club's own events than at midnight on the street.

What else is there to do in Split in February?

Split's carnival, a quiet Diocletian's Palace, Marjan hill and the stadium itself. It is the low season, so tours are small and the Old Town is yours.

Carnival is the big one. In 2026 the masked parade ran on Shrove Tuesday, 17 February, from the Croatian National Theatre along Marmontova and the Riva to Prokurative square, ending with the burning of the carnival figure at St Nicholas pier, per Visit Split. Shrove Tuesday falls on 9 February in 2027, four days before the birthday. The city had not published the 2027 programme when we checked.

The rest is the low season at its best. The walk with a history graduate through Diocletian's Palace is easier to hear with no summer crowds. Marjan hill, right behind Poljud, has pine trails and views of the islands, and the Franciscan monastery in Poljud holds the oldest known painting of Split. Bring a jacket: February is mild by northern standards but the bura wind can bite. Our football and history day plan strings it together.

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