Konavle () is a municipality and a small

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 ...

n subregion located southeast of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

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 ...

. The region is administratively part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and the center of the municipality is

Cavtat Cavtat (, ) is a village in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. It is on the Adriatic Sea coast south of Dubrovnik and is the centre and the main settlement of Konavle municipality. History Antiquity The original city was founded by the ...

Demographics

The total municipality population was 8,577 people in 2011, split in the following 32 settlements: * Brotnice, population 31 *

, population 2,153 * Čilipi, population 933 * Drvenik, population 52 * Duba Konavoska, population 63 * Dubravka, population 295 * Dunave, population 155 * Đurinići, population 96 * Gabrili, population 210 * Gruda, population 741 * Jasenice, population 14 * Komaji, population 275 * Kuna Konavoska, population 17 * Lovorno, population 183 * Ljuta, population 194 * Mihanići, population 96 * Mikulići, population 88 * Močići, population 447 * Molunat, population 212 * Palje Brdo, population 130 * Pločice, population 83 * Poljice, population 70 * Popovići, population 236 * Pridvorje, population 236 * Radovčići, population 228 * Stravča, population 60 * Šilješki, population 22 * Uskoplje, population 136 * Vitaljina, population 211 * Vodovađa, population 190 * Zastolje, population 150 * Zvekovica, population 570 In the 2011 census, 97.1% of the population were

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

. Historically, inhabitants of Konavle were called ''Canalesi''.

History

Konavle gets its name from the Latin word ''canalis'', and refers to the irrigation canals that supplied water from the spring in the village of Vodovađa via Kuna Konavoska to the ancient Greek colony of Epidaurum (

). In 1427, the authorities of Dubrovnik set out to eradicate Bogomilism in Konavle.

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

was restored there by the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

in a rapid process that converted the entire population. During the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

the region was occupied from October 1991 to May 1992 by Yugoslav Army forces from the Republic of Montenegro. Though considerably damaged at the time of its liberation, Konavle maintains its status as one of the wealthiest municipalities in all of

, consistently ranking amongst the ten richest.

Geography

Konavle is actually a narrow field located between the Sniježnica mountain and the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

, spanning the area from the coastal town of Cavtat to the Montenegrin border at Prevlaka. Other than Cavtat, only the southernmost village of Molunat is located on the coast, while the other 30 villages are in the hinterland. The Sniježnica peak at 1234 meters of altitude is the highest point of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and village of Kuna with its 700 m altitude is the highest village in the county. Although Gruda is the administrative center of the municipality, the largest settlement is Cavtat. A few kilometres from Cavtat there is Pasjača, selected by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

in 2024 as the most beautiful beach in Europe, hidden below the Konavle cliffs.

Transport

The airport for Dubrovnik is located near the Konavle village of Čilipi.

Notable people from Konavle

* Tereza Kesovija, singer * Vlaho Bukovac, painter *

Frano Supilo Frano Supilo (30 November 1870 – 25 September 1917) was a Croatian politician and journalist. He opposed the Austro-Hungarian domination of Europe prior to World War I. He participated in the debates leading to the formation of Yugoslavia as ...

, politician * Baltazar Bogišić, jurist and legal historian * Ivan Gundulić, poet, Prince of Konavle * Anton Perich, artist, filmmaker, poet

References

External links

Molunat - The most southern tourist destination in Croatia
{{authority control Populated places in Dubrovnik-Neretva County Municipalities of Croatia Konavle