Šilo is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the north-east of the

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

Krk Krk (; ; ; ; archaic German: ''Vegl'', ; ) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. Krk is tied with Cres as the largest Adriatic island, depending o ...

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 ...

. As of 2021, it had a population of 418. It is one of the

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

centers of the Dobrinj municipality.

Geography

It is located in a well-sheltered

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

called Stipanja Bay, which is naturally enclosed by a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

called Punta Šilo. It is located across from

Crikvenica Crikvenica () is a town in west Croatia, located on the Adriatic in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. Names The names of the town in various languages include: * * * * Geography Crikvenica is located southeast of Rijeka and is the largest s ...

, which is a tourist town on the Croatian coast. Šilo is separated from it by the

Vinodol Channel Vinodol Channel ( or ) is a channel between the island of Krk and the Croatian coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. C ...

, which is only wide. Šilo is connected to the rest of the island of Krk by a regional road. It is 5 kilometers away from the center of its municipality,

Dobrinj Dobrinj is a village and municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia, on the island of Krk. There are 2,150 inhabitants in the municipality, with 91% Croats. The village of Dobrinj itself has 89 inhabitants. Geography ...

. It is also 20 kilometers far from

Krk Bridge Krk Bridge () is a long reinforced concrete arch bridge connecting the Croatian island of Krk to the mainland. Carrying over a million vehicles per year, it was the last tolled bridge in Croatia that was not part of a motorway until the removal ...

; 19.1 km from the main city of the island,

; 13.6 km from

Vrbnik Vrbnik is a village and a municipality on the east coast of the island of Krk. The village is perched on a limestone outcropping 50 m above the Adriatic Sea. Vrbnik is naturally separated from mainland Croatia by the Vinodol Channel, where the to ...

, another settlement on Krk; and 47.7 km from

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

, which is the most important Croatian harbor and the third largest city in the country. Stipanja Bay is well protected from eastern and southern winds by a narrow and low peninsula at the end of which Punta Šilo is located. At the end of this cape there is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

which emits a light beam: B BI 3s, whose maximum range is . Šilo is the largest village in the municipality of

, and it has the longest tourist tradition. It has numerous beautiful, sunny, and preserved pebble beaches and coves. Above Šilo there is an old settlement called

Polje A polje, also called karst polje or karst field, is a large flat plain found in karstic geological regions of the world, with areas usually in the range of 5–400 km2 (2–154 sq mi). The name derives from the Slavic languages, ...

, which, alongside modern houses, has also preserved the traditional rural way of building as well as a traditional way of life.

History

Šilo was established by people from

and Selce. The town has gained importance by the development of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

and the wish of people to travel to the islands. For a long time, it was a link between the island of Krk and the continent. For these reasons, the ''Krk Skydiving Society'' was established on 19 February 1905 in Šilo. After its foundation, it bought a steamboat called Dinko Vitezić, and on 1 June 1905, it opened the regular Šilo – Vrbnik – Crikvenica boat line. Tourism began to grow after 1959 when the

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

between

and Krk began regular service. The basis of Šilo's economy is

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

. Šilo also has an auto camp, tennis courts, cafes, pizza places, a post office, a pastry shop, tourist agencies, a clinic, and the Municipality of Dobrinj Tourist Board, as well as the biggest economic entity of Dobrinj municipality – a construction company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silo Populated places in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Krk