Krapanj is an island in 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 ...

, located south of

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

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 ...

. Krapanj is one of the smallest inhabited islands of the Adriatic Sea covering 0.36 km². It is also the most densely inhabited island and has the lowest elevation (1.5 m above sea level). Krapanj is 300 m offshore at its closest point from the mainland village of Brodarica.

Geography

The average elevation is about and the highest point is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. It lies in the Dinaric direction, from north-west to south-east.

Geology

Krapanj is composed of

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and dolomite.

Climate

The island of Krapanj is situated in the central part of the Croatian littoral and is characterised by a warm, dry Mediterranean climate. According to data from the nearest weather station, in Šibenik, for the period from 1986 to 1996 the average annual temperature was and the average annual precipitation .

History

Many of the Adriatic Islands were populated in pre-history 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 ...

. Krapanj however was first populated by Croatian Toma Jurić, a nobleman from Šibenik and a descendant of the Šubić family from Bribir. Jurić purchased the island in 1436 from the Šibenik County with the intention of building a

Franciscan 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 institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

church on the uninhabited island. Realising their father's dream after his death, Jurić's 4 sons completed The Holy Cross Church and monastery in 1523 with blessings from

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Republic of Venice, Venetian, and a nephew ...

on one condition: only the Friars were to live and inhabit Krapanj. Krapanj came under the possession of the Franciscan Province of St. Jerome of

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 ...

in the 16th century as the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

invaded neighbouring lands. The Franciscans allowed people living on the neighbouring mainland to build their own settlement, southeast of the monastery who then united to defend themselves against the Ottomans. Since the work of the Franciscan friars was closely connected to the inhabitants of the island, in 1652, the monastery was given a parish and the friars began offering spiritual and other assistance to parishes on the mainland. The remains of the old church walls, in part, can be seen by the front door of the cloister. The church was expanded in 1937, and the wall bearing the consecration date (May 15, 1523) joins the new church building with the cloister. Krapanj was the most densely populated of all Croatian Islands given a lucrative economy. But from the middle to late 20th century, many inhabitants fled

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

and poverty by emigrating to Australia, Canada and the United States. Adding to the trend of depopulation, the population decreased from 1,767 in 1981 to only 170 in 2011.

Art and culture

The island of Krapanj's culture and traditions reflect the Dalmatian way of life. Hard work, good food and a healthy lifestyle embodies the seaside rock houses and tiny side-streets. Krapanj takes pride in its origins of deep sea diving and generally personifies a seafaring culture. Krapanj's tourist industry is vastly underdeveloped, with the main factor being the prohibition of vehicles on the island. As a result, the island has kept many of the old-world traditions that add a unique charm. The art of producing

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

(''vino''),

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

(''maslinovo ulje''), rakija and

sea sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and are o ...

(''spužve'') are traditions that date back to pre-history but are still extremely evident in modern-day Krapanj. Food is generally seafood, caught by local fisherman and distributed locally. Krapanj holds a host of cultural antiquities in the monastery including "The Last Supper" by the 16th-century Italian artist Francesco da Santa Croce and a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

painting titled "The Black Madonna On The Throne". The biggest event on the island's calendar is the annual Krapljanska Fešta. The day-long festival is held on 2 August and celebrates ''Gospe od Anđela'' ("Our Lady of the Angels"). Thousands of people gather on the island for the cultural feast of good food, good wine and centuries of culture. The locals annually proclaim "a night the island almost sank".

Cuisine

Krapanj's island culture has spread throughout the region as many inhabitants now live in mainland Brodarica. Traditionally fish, clams and octopus are either grilled over dried vine leaves or cooked in a wood-fired oven. The signature dishes of the region are Squid Ink Risotto, Octopus Potato Salad and Grilled Fish.

Economy

Deep sea diving

Krapanj has a rich history in

underwater diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving (disambiguation), diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meani ...

, primarily in the harvesting and selling of

Antun from Crete, who came to serve in local monastery, introduced Krapanj's inhabitants to diving and sea sponge gathering/processing at the end of the 17th century. For many years, diving for sponges had been the major income for Krapanj families, earning them the title of "Spužvari" (sponge vendors). By the middle of the 20th century the industry peaked with the inception of breathing apparatus and motorised boats. Crews would generally dive 6 times a day, over 20 days taking turns one at a time at depths of over . It was a dangerous occupation as just the weight of the suit was and the constant danger of

decompression sickness Decompression sickness (DCS; also called divers' disease, the bends, aerobullosis, and caisson disease) is a medical condition caused by dissolved gases emerging from Solution (chemistry), solution as bubbles inside the body tissues during D ...

discouraged generations to come. The small industry still persists, with sponges from Krapanj sold throughout Europe with a primary market in Greece and Italy. The cosmetic market has in recent years opened the market for Krapanj sponges on an international scale. The tradition of diving has in latter days given rise to

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

, free diving and spearfishing professionals from Krapanj. The Krapanj monastery museum permanently exhibits a show on sea sponge diving. Tanfara family private museum Spuga2 is place where you can see and get information about sponge diving from first hand today on Krapanj. They are inside industry for more than 120 years.

Tourism

Krapanj is not on the tourist map. Since the end of 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 island has begun a slow rebuild. Many of its old terraces have either been restored or are in the process of rebuild under strict heritage by-laws. This has started a steady stream of tourists to the island which now supports a certain level of tourism infrastructure. Many other Adriatic Islands have constructed bridges to allow tourist access by car. Krapanj has made the decision not to connect to the mainland as this would destroy the island's heritage.

Demographics

The island has only one settlement; Krapanj, which, apart from the island itself, consists of islets of Mumonja, Oblik, Krbela mala, Krbela vela and the Oštrica peninsula, located to the south. Krapanj is administratively located in the City of Šibenik and is one of its local committees. According to the 2011 census, Krapanj had a population of 170. In 2021, its population was 166. Krapanj panorama

Gallery

File:Krapanj gajeta.JPG, Krapanj women rowing a Gajeta File:Krapanj ferry 2012.JPG, Krapanj's ferry at sunset File:Krapanj Old School.jpg, The old school File:Krapanj Porat North.JPG, Terraced architecture File:Krapanj cafe.jpg, Summer on Krapanj File:Krapanj church.jpg, Capella from The Holy Cross Monastery File:Krapanj porat 2004.jpg, Krapanj's boat dock File:Krapanj porat.jpg, Boats moored in Brodarica File:Krapanj sunset.jpg, Sunset in Krapanj File:Krapanj festa.jpg, Procession of boats for the Krapljanska Fešta File:Krapanj front.jpg, A view of Krapanj from Brodarica

References

External links

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Krapanj.com
Info on Krapanj
Krapanj Gallery
A Krapanj photo gallery {{Authority control Islets of Croatia Islands of the Adriatic Sea Landforms of Šibenik-Knin County Sponge diving