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 Krk
An island in the Kvarner Archipelago, the largest
island of the Adriatic Sea; area 409 sq km (38 km lenght, width
up to 20 km); population 16,402. North of the narrow part at the
line Vrbnik - Punat spreads the lower, forested, more fertile and
populated part of the island. The higher, southern part, is predominantly
bare, interspersed with thick forests. The Baska Cove cuts through
the limestone plain, ending in the Gulf of Baska. The highest peak
of the island, Obzova (569 m), lies in the southern karst region.
The rocky, steep and predominantly bare north-western coast is neither
developed nor easily accessible, and represents a danger when the
bora blows. The south-western and south-eastern coasts are well
developed. The mild maritime influence is more prominent in the
west and southwest of the coastline. The mean temperature in January
is 5.6 °C, and in July 24.1°C; the annual rainfall exceeds
1,000 mm. Two small lakes (Lake Omisalj - or Jezero - in the north,
and Ponikve Lake in the centre of the island) represent a source
for fresh water supply of the nearby settlements. Forests account
for 30.9 % of the total island's area; the Mediterranean forest
of holm oak is limited to the south-western, sheltered coastal region.
Limestone plains are predominantly rocky. Apart from Dobrinj, all
other towns (Krk, Baska, Malinska, Njivice, Punat) lie on the coast.
Chief occupations are farming, wine production, fruit growing, fishery,
hunting and livestock breeding. The major industries include petrochemicals,
textiles, shipbuilding, tourism (tourist centres and the tourist
resort Haludovo) and boating (marina in Punat). Krk has good traffic
connections with the mainland - Krk Bridge, connecting the mainland
main road (M2) with the main road (M29) on the island from the north
of Baska; ferry connections include Valbiska - Merag (Cres), Baska
- Lopar (Rab); the airport Rijeka is near Omisalj. A regional road
runs from Silo and Klimno to Sv. Vid Moholjica. There is also an
oil terminal on Krk (Omisalj).
The continuity of settlement on the island of Krk dates back to
the Neolithic (caves along the Baska Cove, Vrbnik Cove), continues
over the Bronze and Iron Ages (hill-forts, tumuli near Malinska,
Gabonjin, Dobrinj, Vrbnik, Baska) up to the present. The oldest
known inhabitants of the island were the Liburnians. In the Roman
time there was a settlement called Curicum in the place of the present
town of Krk. In AD 49 a sea battle between the Caesar's and Pompey's
fleets took place off Krk. In the Middle Ages Krk acknowledged the
rule of the Byzantine Empire, then of Venice (since 1000), the Croatian
rulers (in the second half of the 11th century), then again Venice
(up to 1358) which granted, by virtue of a contract, the rule over
the island to the dukes of Krk, later known as the Frankopans. In
the 13th and 14th centuries the Frankopans were one of the most
powerful Croatian noble families. In 1358 they recognized the supreme
rule of the Croato-Hungarian kings. The last member of the Krk line
of the Frankopans put the island under the protection of Venice
(1480). Thus Krk, the last of the Croatian islands, became annexed
to the Venetian Dalmatia, within which it remained up to 1797, sharing
after that the fate with the -other parts of Dalmatia and Istria.
In the past, Krk was a prominent centre of the Glagolitic literacy
(the oldest preserved Glagolitic monument of Krk is the 11th-century
inscription from the former Benedictine abbey of St. Lawrence in
the town of Krk). Pope Innocent IV allowed in his letter to the
Benedictines of Omisalj in 1252 Slavic Glagolitic liturgy; this
letter, together with the letter addressed to the bishop of Senj
in 1248, is considered to be an act of the Pope with which he legalized
the Slavic liturgy. Among the numerous Glagolitic monuments originating
from Krk, there is the Baska Tablet from Jurandvor near Baska, then
the Statute of Vrbnik (1388) and the Missal of Vrbnik from 1642,
ornamented with miniatures. The Glagolitic script was used on the
island of Krk up to the first decades of the 19th century. - Several
important monuments bear witness to the gradual development of architecture
- from the early Christian (the ruins of the original cathedral
of the town of Krk) and the early Croatian Period (St. Donatus near
Punat, St. Krsevan near Glavotok), through the early Romanesque
(St. Vitus near Dobrinj, St. Lucy in Jurandvor, St. John in Baska)
and the late Romanesque (Virgin Mary in Omisalj, the cathedral and
church of St. Quirinus in the town of Krk), to the Gothic style
(St. Francis in the town of Krk, the church on Kosljun, the chapel
of the Frankopans in the cathedral of Krk, the patrician houses
in Krk). The island of Krk is particularly interesting from the
ethnographical point of view (folk tradition, costumes, cottage
industry, the archaic chakavian dialect, songs and tunes).
Our recommendation:
The
Blue House apartments - Cizici, Island of Krk
Private
apartments "Patricia" - Gruh b.b. - HR - 51523 Baska -
Island KRK
Apartments
"Paljaga" - Petar Paljaga - HR - 51512 Njivice - Island
KRK
Appartment
"Zoric"- Vlade Bagata 16- HR- 51511 Malinska - Island
KRK
Appartments
"Denjak"-Kamenica 12-HR-51517 Kornic island KrK
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