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The island of Hvar
Hvar, the island in Adriatic Sea ,
is the longest and the sunniest Croatian island and one of the most beautiful
islands in the world. It is a part of the central Dalmatian archipelago with
the area of 299.6 sq km (length 68.2 km, width up to 10.5 km) and population
of 10,648 inhabitants (2011). Hvar Island is administratively part of the
Split-Dalmatia county in Dalmatia, Croatia.
Map of the
island of Hvar
The major places
(all on the coast of the island) are: the town of Hvar,
Stari
Grad, Jelsa,
Sućuraj
and Vrboska.
Other places on the coast are: Milna, Sveta
Nedilja, Ivan Dolac and Zavala.
Places which aren’t on the coast are: Brusje, Grablje, Selca kod Starog
Grada, Dol, Rudina, Vrbanj, Svirče, Vrisnik, Pitve, Humac, Poljica,
Zastražišće, Gdinj, Bogomolje
and Selca kod Bogomolja.
Island Hvar is separated from the island of Brac (by the Hvar
Channel), from the island of Vis (by the Vis Channel), from the
island of Korčula (by the Korčula Channel) and from peninsula Peljesac
(by the Neretva Channel), while the east cape of the island (Sućuraj)
is located just three nautical miles away from the mainland (Drvenik on Makarska
Riviera). In front of the western part of the southern coast of Hvar are Pakleni Islands (Pakleni Otoci), and in
front of the middle part the island of ŠČedro. A crest stretches across the
middle part of the island, with the highest peak Sveti Nikola (St. Nicholas)
(628 m); north of it is the fertile Big Field (Velo Polje). The northern
coast of the island, with the spacious Stari Grad Bay and a number of coves,
is much more indented than the southern.
The island Hvar is
famous for its pleasant Mediterranean climate. The island is characterized by
gentle winters, warm summers and many hours of sunshine (2,718 hours a year).
Maximum temperatures are never too high to render agriculture impossible (the
highest recorded temperature of 37°C was reached in 1935). An average air
temperature in the winter months is 9.1°C (in January 8.4°C, in July 24.8°C).
Snow occurs very rarely; in January there are three snowy days in ten years
and in February only one.
Economy is based on tourism, fishing, farming, viticulture, olive growing and
especially on cultivation of rosemary and lavender. The island of Hvar has
three fish canneries: Sućuraj, Vrboska and Hvar.
Major places on the island are connected by the regional road D-116 Hvar -
Sućuraj. Ferry lines: Sućuraj – Drvenik,
Stari Grad – Split, Stari Grad – Ancona (Italy). Boat lines: Hvar - Split and
Jelsa – Bol (island Brac) - Split. More travel information you can find here.
The island of Hvar was populated already in the prehistoric times and later
inhabited by the Illyrians, who came into conflict with the Greek colonizers
in the 4th century BC. In Oglavak and Koščak (near Sućuraj on the east cape
of island) was the position of the Illyrian queen
Teuta place. Numerous tumuli on the island are of Illyrian origin. Hvar
accepted the Greek settlers but was the only one that had an Ionic settlement
(Pharos,
today Stari Grad). Hvar played an important role in the Roman-Illyrian
conflicts, when its rulers (Demetrije Hvaranin) tried to preserve its
independence. In Roman times Hvar lost its earlier importance.
In the 7th century island Hvar came under the Principality of Croatia
(Kingdom of Croatia since 925 till 1102). In the following centuries Hvar
recognized the sovereignty of the Croatian-Hungarian ruler, the Bosnian King
Tvrtko, the Split Duke Hrvoje, the Dubrovnik Republic, Venice, France,
Austria, Italy, Yugoslavia and, finally, Republic of Croatia (since 1991).
In the 16th and the 17th centuries Hvar was a prominent
centre of the Croatian literature (Petar Hektorović, Hanibal Lucić). The town
of Hvar and other towns and villages on the island have numerous
architectural and cultural monuments,
which bear witness to outstanding artistic traditions of the island, the
economic prosperity of its population and the relations Hvar used to maintain
with cultural centres of the past centuries.
Friendly people, well-indented coast, numerous picturesque and intact beaches and
bays, virgin nature, very rich historical and
cultural inheritance, the scents of lavender, olive trees and wine are
the reasons that island Hvar welcomes more and more tourists each year.
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