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Sucuraj is a
small scenically fishing and tourist town and (also)
a harbour which is located on the east cape of Hvar Island; where the island reaches
the land at it’s nearest point (5 km). It is located on a place where the
crystal clean sea of Hvar Canal and Neretva Canal are merging in a
magnificent décor of Biokovo mountain and Makarska
Riviera, Brac Island, Peljesac Peninsula and Korcula
Island.
The town consists of two parts: Gornja Banda and Donja Banda. Gornja Banda is
located on the north side of the harbour, and Donja Banda on a small
peninsula on the south side; between the harbour and Cesminica Cove, where the main beach is located. A
fertile field stretches to the end of the harbour from its end to the west
and it’s highly populated since antiquity. The Gornja Banda is also populated
since the antiquity and Donja Banda since the 15th century. The inhabitants
mostly deal with fishing, tourism and agriculture (especially olive-growing
and viticulture).
Sucuraj
is attractive to tourists mostly for its unspoiled nature, thick vegetation
and a large number of beaches. The place is filed with palms, tamaris, pine
trees and other Mediterranean plants. The area is surrounded with olive
groves, vineyards and massive woodland. The climate in Sucuraj is highly
pleasant: the summer period is long, dry and hot and the summer winds called
maestral and tramontana provide pleasant cool refreshment.
Sucuraj is encompassed by sea on its three sides and it has more than 25 km
of shore with a large number of beautiful and scenically beaches. The most
popular beaches in Sucuraj are:
Cesminica – the main local beach (on the
south side), 200 m from the centre, with sandy base and a pebble, concrete
and rocky shore. There is a coffee bar on the beach and you can find a shower
nearby.
Bilina – a pebble-rocky beach (on the
north side), 500 m from the centre, with a view on Makarska Riviera, mostly
known for its crystal sea in all weather conditions.
Perna – a sandy cove on the south side,
1.5 km from the town, with a shallow bottom, rocky shore and a thick pine
wood whose tree tops are partly above the sea level.
Mlaska – a sandy cove on the north side,
3 km from the town. The bottom is shallow and sandy and the shore sandy,
rocky and concrete. In Mlaska you can find a camp with a restaurant, shop and
some showers. Mlaska consists of Velika Mlaska (textile area) and Mala Mlaska
(FKK).
Mrtnovik (or Mrtinovik) – a pebble and
rocky bay on the south side, 10 km from Sucuraj.
Accommodation is available in a hotel, private
apartments, family pensions, rooms and in the camp. The tourist offer
includes quality restaurants with fish, meat and vegetarian specialties. All
aforesaid you can find in a few hundred meters area so there’s no need to use
a car. Each day, during the tourist season, there are boat trips to Makarska
Riviera, Peljesac Peninsula and Korcula Island. Thanks to the close nearness
of shore and good traffic
connection, diurnally trips to Dubrovnik, Medjugorje and Split are
plausible.
There are many sport-recreational activities offered for tourists in Sucuraj
(fishing, cycling, sailing, diving, football, bowling...). Smaller floating
vessels and bicycles are free to rent. Sucuraj Harbour is sheltered from wind
and well equipped, so many yachtsmen and ferry boats frequently drop there.
Sucuraj exists for more than 2300 years and it has been numerously destroyed
and rebuild through its history. The first known
inhabitants of Sucuraj were the Illyrians and their queen
Teuta had a castle in Sucuraj in the 3rd century BC. In the 7th and 8th
century Sucuraj was being populated by the Croats, who had been living in the
town until present time. The oldest well conserved structure in Sucuraj is
the old Augustinian monastery (a Franciscan
monastery today). The exact date of its construction is unknown, but the year
1309 is though to be the year of its restoration. Sucuraj gained its name by St. George’s Church, which is mentioned
by the Hvar legal statute from the year 1331 (the church was destroyed at the
end of the 19th century, when a new one was built.) A large number of Sucuraj
inhabitants came from the coast in the 15th century, while running away in
front of the Turks. The baroque church of St. Anthony, from the year 1663, has been
preserved from that period. The old Venetian fortress (fortica), from the year 1613,
has also been partially preserved.
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