Rab is a town on the island of Rab in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Rab, the settlement, is located on a small peninsula on the southwestern side of the island.

History

The town has a long history that dates back to 360 BC when it was inhabited by the

Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...

. The island was the frontier between the regions of Liburnia and

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

. From the third century BC to the sixth century AD Rab was part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, and Emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

proclaimed it a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

in 10 BC. It was the first town of Roman

to be given the honorary title "felix". Saint Marinus, the Christian founder of

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

, was a native of Rab who is said to have fled the island under

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

's persecution in AD 301. Among the signatories of the Second Council of Nicea was a bishop of Rab, namely Ursus. (“Ursus episcopus Avaritianensium ecclesiae” Ursus of Rab) The worst disaster in the town's history was an outbreak of the plague in 1456 that decimated the city's population. In 2019, much of the old town was evacuated for 9 days because of a gas leak. At 17:07 on 24 June, the ''VOC Rab'' received a call from a resident of the third floor of an apartment on ''Put Kaldanca'' street about the smell of gas. Already at 17:15, the presence of an explosive gas at a concentration of 9% was confirmed, and part of the old town of Rab was evacuated. All night, firefighters searched for the source of the gas leak. The next morning, the ''DVD Rab'' under commander Milivoj Ličina confirmed the presence of gas throughout the wider area, and relayed the working assumption that the gas was leaked during the filling of the gas storage for Hotel Arbiana on the evening of the 22nd. Ventillation efforts began on the 25th and lasted day and night throughout the period.

Climate

Since records began in 1978, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station at an elevation of was , on 22 July 2015. The coldest temperature was , on 7 January 1985.

Demographics

In the 2011 census, the total population was 8,065, in the following settlements: * Banjol, population 1,907 * Barbat na Rabu, population 1,242 * Kampor, population 1,173 * Mundanije, population 520 * Palit, population 1,687 * Rab, population 437 * Supetarska Draga, population 1,099

Attractions

There are many churches in the town. The largest is St. Mary the Blessed, which was built in the 13th century. The church of St. Justine is now a museum of sacred arts, while the chapel of St. Christopher (dedicated to the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of the island) is nowadays called the Lapidarium. The four church bell towers became the symbol of the town and island. The oldest dates back to the eleventh century.

Sports

The local HPS chapter was called ''HPD "Kamenjak"'', but it was liquidated on 3 March 1937.

Gallery

2014-12-08 09-34-44 11112.4 Croatia Primorsko-Goranska Gradac Lusare.jpg, View of Rab from air SanMarinoRab.jpg, Statue of San Marino 20140504 Rab town srednja ulica.jpg, Streets of Rab 20140505 Rab Katamaran PAG-RIJEKA.jpg, Old Town 20140505 Rab town harbour Šetalište kapetana Ivana Dominisa.jpg, Ivan Dominis Promenade Rab Hotel Arbiana.jpg, Arbiana Hotel

International relations

Rab is twinned with: *

City of San Marino The City of San Marino (), also known simply as San Marino and locally as Città, is the capital city of the Republic of San Marino and one of its nine . It has a population of 4,061. It is on the western slopes of San Marino's highest point, ...

, San Marino(1968)

References

Bibliography

Biology

External links

Virtual tour of Rab town with photo gallery

About town Rab history, squares and church towers

Attribution

* ''The original version of this article was taken from the Wikipedia article Rab.'' {{Authority control Cities and towns in Croatia Populated places in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Rab Populated coastal places in Croatia Illyrian Croatia