In written documents, Bibinje is first mentioned in 1214. The area of Bibinje has been inhabited since Roman times which is evidenced by the origins of the name Bibinje. It was named after Vibius the Roman patrician who owned property on the territory of present Bibinje. According to a folk tale, the place was originally built on the top of the hill above the present location (more precisely, in the field of Bibinje, on the slopes of the hill). Today, the centre of that locality is called Petrina after the small church of Saint Peter from the 8th century. Due to the plague raging at that time, people moved from Petrina to the present location on the peninsula by the sea. By the establishment of the Benedictines Order in Zadar in 1066, Croatian King Petar Krešimir IV gave the royal property Točinja (today Bibinje) to the Order of Benedictines as a gift to keep in permanent possession. Under the protection of Benedictines, from the late middle Ages until the first Turkish invasion, Bibinje experiences envious economic development.
In the middle of the 15th century, Turkish invasions into the region begin, which remains one of the most difficult periods in its entire history. One of the greatest folk heroes from the struggle era against the Turks was the priest Stipan Sorić from Bibinje. In 1468, the Venetian government fortifies Bibinje with a strong defensive wall and tower.
DON STIPAN SORIĆ
One of the greatest folk heroes from the struggle era against the Turks is meritorious not only for the freedom of wider Zadar area, but also for the area of Dalmatia and Lika. He was the leader, liberator and martyr and immortal in the end. He was celebrated in the songs of Andrija Kačić Miošić and Filip Grabovac. It is believed that he is native from Bibinje, schooled in Zadar Institute of Croatian Glagolitic priest. In addition to the combat activity, he was prominent in spying among Turks and gathering information. His work was completed in 1648 on Ribnik at Lika, where he was captured and brutally executed.
In many medieval documents is often mentioned the site Stomorinoselo, known as Petrina, after the church of Saint Peter, the parish church of Stomorinoselo. Considering it was having good preconditions, Stomorinoselo developed a strong agriculture. According to the 1527 Census of population there are “Velike” and “Male” Bibinje. Velike Bibinje is represented by 42 inhabitants at the end of the peninsula (Punta), settled around the church of Saint John the Baptist which was built by Biograd Benedictines. Around the church of Saint Roch, the patron saint of plague and famine was Male Bibinje with 49 inhabitants, migrants from Petrina. During the Cyprus war in 1570, Turks burned down and destroyed Bibinje and the population was fleeing mostly to islands.