Krk (; ; ; ; archaic German: ''Vegl'', ; ) is a

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 ...

n island in the northern

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 near

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 ...

in the

Bay of Kvarner The Kvarner Gulf (, or ; ; or ) sometimes also Kvarner Bay, is a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea, located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian Littoral mainland. The bay is a part of Croatia's internal waters. The largest is ...

and part of

Primorje-Gorski Kotar county Primorje – Gorski Kotar County (, ) is a Counties of Croatia, county in western Croatia, most of it based in the historical and cultural region called Croatia proper and some of it in Istria, including the Bay of Kvarner, the surrounding Northe ...

. Krk is tied with

Cres Cres is an Adriatic island in Croatia. It is one of the northern islands in the Kvarner Gulf and can be reached via ferry from Rijeka, Krk island or from the Istrian peninsula (line Brestova-Porozina). With an area of , Cres has the same si ...

as the largest Adriatic island, depending on the methodology used to measure the

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. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

. Krk is the most populous island in the Adriatic, with multiple towns and villages that contain a total of 19,916 (2021) inhabitants.

History

Prehistory

Archaeological findings indicate that the island was inhabited continuously since the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period, although very little information about the earliest people is known. In later periods, Greek and Latin sources refer to {{{lang, grc, Κύριστα (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

) or {{lang, la, Curicta (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

) as one of the Apsyrtidian or Electridian islands held by the people known as

Liburnians The Liburnians or Liburni () were an ancient tribe inhabiting the district called Liburnia, a coastal region of the northeastern Adriatic between the rivers ''Arsia'' ( Raša) and ''Titius'' ( Krka) in what is now Croatia. According to Strabo ...

. The Liburnians called the island "Curicum", which is the name assumed to have been given to the island by its original inhabitants. There are the remains of prehistoric settlements near

Draga Bašćanska Draga Bašćanska () is a village in Croatia on the island of 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 count ...

, as well as

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

earthworks near

Malinska Malinska () is a settlement (naselje) in the northwestern part of the island Krk in Croatia and an important tourist town. It lies on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, in the picturesque bay facing Opatija and Rijeka. Demographics The municipality o ...

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 ...

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 ...

and Baška. {{cite book , last1=Trinajstic , first1=Petar , title=Grad i otok , date=2002 , location=Rijeka , isbn=9539810094 , url=http://www.trinajstic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/petar-trinajstic-grad-i-otok-krk_v2.pdf , language=HR

Roman era

Krk came under Roman rule once they defeated the Liburnians. The town of Krk (Curicum) became a town with

Italic law Italic may refer to: Italy * Relating to Italy ** Italic peoples, Italic-language speaking people of ancient Italy ** Italic languages, an Indo-European language family ** Old Italic alphabet, an alphabet of ancient Italy Calligraphy and typogra ...

whose status evolved to give it the rights of a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. Nothing is known about the internal organizations of the town of Krk during this time. Near the present-day Franciscan monastery, the remains of

thermal baths A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to prehis ...

have been found. The defensive walls of Roman Curicum were among the most secure of all the towns on the Eastern Adriatic fortified by the Romans. Work began on their construction during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in Rome (50 BCE) and they were further strengthened in the 160s CE, to enable them to withstand attacks by the

Quadi The Quadi were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people during the Roman era, who were prominent in Greek and Roman records from about 20 AD to about 400 AD. By about 20 AD they had a kingdom centred in the area of present-day western Slovakia, north ...

and

Marcomanni The Marcomanni were a Germanic people who lived close to the border of the Roman Empire, north of the River Danube, and are mentioned in Roman records from approximately 60 BC until about 400 AD. They were one of the most important members of th ...

who were at that time threatening the Adriatic. Not far from Krk in 49 BCE there was a decisive sea battle between

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

and Pompey, which was described impressively by the Roman writer

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November AD 39 – 30 April AD 65), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba, Hispania Baetica (present-day Córdoba, Spain). He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imper ...

(39–65 CE) in his work ''

Pharsalia ''De Bello Civili'' (; ''On the Civil War''), more commonly referred to as the ''Pharsalia'' (, neuter plural), is a Latin literature, Roman Epic poetry, epic poem written by the poet Lucan, detailing the Caesar's civil war, civil war between Ju ...

''.{{cite book , publisher=Naklada Naprijed , year=2003 , title=The Croatian Adriatic Tourist Guide , url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24766555W/The_Croation_Adriatic?edition=croationadriatic0000unse , pages=111–112 , location=Zagreb , isbn=953-178-097-8 When the Empire was divided, Krk came under the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

. Municipium Flavium Fulfinum is an old Roman settlement near the town of

Omišalj Omišalj is a coastal municipality in the north-west of the island of Krk in Croatia. The population of Omišalj itself is 1,887 (2021), while the municipality also includes the nearby village of Njivice, bringing the total population to 2,992. Om ...

. Archaeological findings show the first traces of settlement in the area dating back into the 1st century when the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

settled the area following the

Illyrian Wars The Illyrian Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Illyrian kingdom under the Ardiaei and Labeatae. In the ''First Illyrian War'', which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC, Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adr ...

as a retirement community for soldiers. The Romans constructed the city for the retired Roman soldiers during the Flavian dynasty. The settlement was abandoned in the

Late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

. Roman ruins can be seen today in some parts of the town of Krk, for example mosaics in some houses. A temple to the Roman goddess Venus was discovered near the small gate (mala vrata) in the old city. This is the only temple dedicated to the goddess Venus to be found on the eastern side of the Adriatic and it dates back to 1st century BC. It's unique in that approval from the emperor’s family itself was needed before building could commence for such a statue to be built. The temple is located within a shop just inside of the small gate.

Migration Period

The walls of the town of Krk could not withstand attacks by the Avars (7th century), but in contrast to

Salona Salona (, ) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and near to Split, in Croatia. It was one of the largest cities of the late Roman empire with 60,000 inhabitants. It was the last residence of the final western ...

Scardona Skradin is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia. It is located near the Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and from Split. The main attraction of the park, Slapovi Krke, is a series of waterf ...

and Aeona, life in Krk quickly returned to normal, and Krk functioned as one of the Dalmatian city-states. The Croats penetrated into the town on several occasions. They retained many of the Roman names they found there and so it is said that Krk has a "mosaic dialect". Following the Treaty of Aachen (812) the entire island was ceded to the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and was governed according to the norms of that Empire. During the reign of Emperor

Constantine Porphyrogenitus Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...

(10th century), Krk was known as ''Vekla'', of which the Romanized variant, also used by the Venetians, was ''Veglia''.

Reign of Croatian Counts and Kings

There are no extant documents showing when Krk became part of the Croatian state. It is known that from around 875 the Byzantine town paid the Croatian rulers 110 gold pieces a year to be able peacefully to keep their hold there. While the Croatian state was being established, Krk found itself on the Venetians' route to the Mediterranean. The Venetians conquered the town for the first time in 1001, and from then Krk's history was closely linked with the history of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

for seven centuries. During the reign of

Peter Krešimir IV Peter Krešimir IV () was List of dukes and kings of Croatia#Kings of Croatia (925–1102), King Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102), of Croatia and Dalmatia from 1059 until his death in 1074. He was the last ruler of the Krešimirović branch of the ...

the Croatian rulers regained their power, but the Venetians took Krk for the second time in 1118.

Reign of the Krk Counts (from 1430 on – the Frankopan family)

When the Venetians conquered Krk for the second time in 1118, the local noble family, the unknown Dujams, received Krk as part of a pact with

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, and they became Counts. When Dujam died in 1163, Venice allowed his sons to make their position hereditary, after a payment of 350 Byzantine gold pieces as tax. In a short time the Krk Counts became so powerful, that at one time from 1244 to 1260, Venice rescinded their authority. This failed to impede their rise, however. They increased economic exploitation, but they also endeavoured to strengthen old traditions and rights with various statutes (the Vinodol Code 1288 and the Vrbnik Statute, 1388). Dujam's youngest son, who died in 1209, succeeded in extending his authority to the mainland, began to serve the Croatian-Hungarian King and received the district of

Modruš Modruš is a village, former episcopal see, and current Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. T ...

. Due to his economic strength and social standing, his opponents fought each other for his favour. The Counts became so strong that no power could threaten them (until the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

). Members of his family were leaders in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

Trogir Trogir () is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 10,107 (2021) and a total municipal population of 12,393 (2021). The historic part of the city is situated on a small island ...

and

Senj Senj is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains. The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress () which was completed in 1558. For a time this was the seat of the Uskoks, who were ...

, and from 1392 one of them (

Ivan V Ivan V Alekseyevich (; – ) was Tsar of all Russia between 1682 and 1696, jointly ruling with his younger half-brother Peter I. Ivan was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia by his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, while Peter was the ...

), became a Croatian-Dalmatian Ban. In 1430 they took the surname

Frankopan The House of Frankopan (, , , ) was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croatia in union with Hungary. The Frankopans, along with the Zrinskis, are among the mos ...

(Frangipane), claiming to have Roman origins. That year they adopted a coat of arms showing two lions breaking a piece of bread (Latin: frangere panem, break bread). From 1449, the descendants of Nikola IV founded eight branches of his family, and together with the Zrinski Counts were the ruling feudal family in the whole of Croatia right up to 1671. The Frankopans produced seven Croatian Bans, and many of them were patrons of Croatian artists.

Ivan VII Frankopan Ivan VII or Ivan Krčki (of Krk) was the only prince of the semi-independent united Krk (the Principality of Krk) from 1451 to 1480. He was a prince of the House of Frankopan. As he needed more manpower, Frankopan settled Morlachs and Vlachs (Rom ...

in particular was the only prince of the semi-independent

Principality of Krk The Principality of Krk was a semi-independent principality on the Croatian-Adriatic island of Krk that existed from 1451 to 1480 during the Late Middle Ages. Previous to the principality's foundation, Krk and the surrounding lands were ruled by sev ...

.{{citation needed, date=September 2021 He also promoted the settlement of

Morlachs Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци; ; ) is an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach pastoralist community in the mountain ...

and

Vlachs Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...

(originally

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

who later split into

Istro-Romanians The Istro-Romanians ( or ) are a Romance languages, Romance ethnic group native to or associated with the Istria, Istrian Peninsula. Historically, they inhabited vast parts of it, as well as the western side of the island of Krk until 1875. Howe ...

) in the island (specifically in the areas of

Dubašnica Dubašnica () was a village in the northwestern part of the island of Krk, now in Croatia, at the south of Malinska and near Poljica. It was first mentioned in the 15th century and became extinct in the 18th century as a result of a malaria epid ...

and Poljica and between the castles of

and

) to have a bigger manpower. Thus, these Istro-Romanians would form a community in Krk that would influence the local Croatian dialect and leave several toponyms on the island. The Istro-Romanians of Krk disappeared in 1875 after the death of the last speaker of the local Istro-Romanian dialect, which some Croatian scholars named "Krko-Romanian". Nowadays, this ethnic group only inhabits

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

.{{cite journal, url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326033781, title=Vlachs from the Island Krk in the Primary Historical and Literature Sources, first=Nina, last=Spicijarić Paškvan, journal=Studii și Cercetări – Actele Simpozionului "Banat – Istorie și Multiculturalitate", year=2014, pages=345–358, language=hr, ref=none

Venetian Rule (1480–1797)

The island of Krk was a final Adriatic island to become part of the

Venetian Empire Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetians might refer to: * Masters of Venetian painting in 15th-16th centuries * ...

. Due to its location, proximity to the

Uskoks The Uskoks (, , singular: ; notes on naming) were irregular soldiers in Habsburg Croatia that inhabited areas on the eastern Adriatic coast and surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Bands of Uskoks fought a guerrilla wa ...

of Senj, it served as a lookout point, as well as first line of defence against the Uskoks. From that time on, the ruler was a Venetian noble, but the Small and the Large Councils both held a certain autonomy. The city laws were written in Latin and, after 1500, in Italian. Italian was also used for the church registers for births, marriages and deaths; other public documents were written in a

Glagolitic The Glagolitic script ( , , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed that it was created in the 9th century for the purpose of translating liturgical texts into Old Church Slavonic by Saints Cyril and Methodi ...

script, which was widespread here more than anywhere else. At the beginning of 16th century the inhabitants of inland Croatia began to settle on Krk, as a result of their flight from the Ottoman invasions. Nonetheless, Krk still saw a decline, just like all the other Venetian lands. In year 1527 the town was recorded to have 10,461 inhabitants, while in 1527{{Clarify, date=July 2015 it had 8,000.

Austrian Rule

Austrian rule over the island came after the fall of Venice in 1797 and was briefly (1806–1813) interrupted by the existence of Napoleon's

Illyrian Provinces The Illyrian Provinces were an autonomous province of France during the First French Empire that existed under Napoleonic Rule from 1809 to 1814. The province encompassed large parts of modern Italy and Croatia, extending their reach further e ...

. In 1822 the Austrians separated the island from Dalmatia and linked it to

, therefore bringing the islands of Krk,

and

Lošinj Lošinj (; ; , earlier ''Osero''; ; ; ) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, in the Kvarner Gulf. It is almost due south of the city of Rijeka and part of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The settlements on Lošinj include Nerez ...

under direct rule from Vienna. This switch contributed to the appearance of Croatian National Revival, so along with nearby coastal town

Kastav Kastav is a town in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, western part of Croatia, built on a 365 m high hill overlooking the Kvarner Gulf on the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic. It is in close vicinity of Rijeka, the largest port in Croatia ...

, the town of Krk played a major role in spreading of Croatian education and culture in the area.

20th century

The Italian Occupation (1918–1920) was brief, and Krk was handed over to Croatia, then in Yugoslavia, by the

Treaty of Rapallo Following World War I there were two Treaties of Rapallo, both named after Rapallo, a resort on the Ligurian coast of Italy: * Treaty of Rapallo, 1920, an agreement between Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the later Yugoslav ...

, Italy took Krk again in the Second World War (1941–1943), and German occupation followed from 1943 to 1945. The post-war development of Krk was led by tourism. The building of an airport and then a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

over to the mainland ensures the future of the development of tourism on this island. In

there has also been industrial development. The bridge is at the north end of Krk island and uses the small island of Otočić Sveti Marko (St. Mark's Islet) as a mid-support. The bridge was completed and opened in July 1980 and originally named Tito's Bridge ({{langx, hr, Titov most) in honor of Yugoslav president

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

, who had died two months earlier.{{sfn, Simović, 2000, p=436 The bridge has since been renamed Krk Bridge or {{Lang, hr, Krčki most.

Ship Building

The island has a long history of shipbuilding, dating to the

. Nearby close to the harbor of Mala Luka, remains of a Liburnian-era shipyard have been found. The name of the municipality of

is derived from "Dub", an old Slavic word for oak. Oak forests made the island attractive for ship builders, dating to

Liburnian The Liburnians or Liburni () were an ancient tribe inhabiting the district called Liburnia, a coastal region of the northeastern Adriatic between the rivers ''Arsia'' ( Raša) and ''Titius'' ( Krka) in what is now Croatia. According to Strabo ...

times. Malinska harbor was used as a port due to its protection from bura wind as well as its depth. The harbor of

was used for shipbuilding in the 13th century.

Economics and infrastructure

Krk is located rather near the mainland and has been connected to it via a {{convert, 1430, m, ft, 0, abbr=on two-arch concrete

since 1980, one of the longest concrete bridges in the world. Prior to construction of the bridge, a ferry carried passengers and vehicles from Črišnjevo on the mainland to a port located in the cove of Voz on Krk. Due to the proximity to the city of Rijeka,

also hosts the Rijeka International Airport as well as an

oil terminal An oil terminal (also called a tank farm, tankfarm, oil installation or oil depot) is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these Petroleum product, products are transported to end u ...

representing a part of the

Port of Rijeka The Port of Rijeka (, ) is a seaport in Rijeka, Croatia, located on the shore of the Kvarner Gulf in the Adriatic Sea. The first records of the port date to 1281. It was the main port of the Kingdom of Austro-Hungary in the 19th century and the ...

and a

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable s ...

plant.{{cite web , publisher= Port of Rijeka Authority , url= http://www.portauthority.hr/rijeka/en/infrastructure/liquid-cargo-terminal.html , title= Terminals – Liquid Cargo Terminal , access-date= August 26, 2011 , archive-date= September 9, 2020 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200909061738/https://www.portauthority.hr/rijeka/en/infrastructure/liquid-cargo-terminal.html/ , url-status= dead {{cite web, publisher=DIOKI d.d. , url=http://www.dioki.hr/eng/o_petrokemija/p_lokacije1.asp , title=DINA – Petrokemija d.d., Omišalj , access-date=August 26, 2011 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502044910/http://www.dioki.hr/eng/o_petrokemija/p_lokacije1.asp , archive-date=May 2, 2011 {{cite web, publisher=

Jadranski naftovod Jadranski naftovod, commonly known as "JANAF" is a crude oil transportation company in Croatia. It was established in 1974. It operates one of the most significant oil pipelines in Europe - the JANAF oil transport system, a part of the Adria oi ...

, url= http://www.janaf.hr/index.php?option=terminal&lang=en , title= The Omišalj Port and Terminal , access-date=August 26, 2011 Since January 2021,there is an active Krk LNG terminal storage and regasification ship moored in

, north of Krk, able to receive large

LNG carrier An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Overview The first oceangoing liquified natural gas tanker in the world was '' Methane Pioneer'', which entered service in 1959 with a carrying capacity of ...

ships and then to pump the gas into trans-European pipelines. Krk is a popular tourist destination, due to its proximity to

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, southern Germany, Austria, and northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Since the collapse of the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

, many tourists have appeared from Slovakia,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Romania, and other former Eastern Bloc countries.

Geography

Krk is like many Croatian islands, it is rocky and hilly. The rock is mostly

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

. The southeast portion of the island is mostly bare as a result of the bora winds. Some prominent features include: * Obzova, the highest point at 568 msl *

Vela Luka Vela Luka () is a small town and the only naselje , settlement in the eponymous municipality in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southern Dalmatia, Croatia. The town is located on the western side of the island of Korčula at the bottom of a wide bay ...

a harbor on the southeastern end of the island

Important Bird Area

The island forms part of the Kvarner Islands

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA), designated as such by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports significant numbers of many bird species, including breeding populations of several

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

.{{cite web , url= https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kvarner-islands-iba-croatia , title=Kvarner islands, author= , date=2024, website= BirdLife Data Zone, publisher= BirdLife International, access-date= 2024-08-27 A

Eurasian griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It is also known as the griffon vulture, although this term is sometimes used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confuse ...

colony lives in protected in an area called Kuntrep on Krk. There they breed at low elevations, with some nests at 10 m (33 ft). Therefore, contact with people is common.

Culture and religion

Krk has historically been a center of Croatian culture. Various literature in the

Glagolitic alphabet The Glagolitic script ( , , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed that it was created in the 9th century for the purpose of translating liturgical texts into Old Church Slavonic by Saints Cyril and Methodi ...

was created and in part preserved on Krk (notably the

Baška tablet Baška tablet (, ) is one of the first monuments containing an inscription in the Croatian recension of the Church Slavonic language, dating from . On it Croatian ethnonym and king Demetrius Zvonimir are mentioned for the first time in native Cr ...

, one of the oldest preserved texts in Croatian). A

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

lies on the small

island of Košljun 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 ...

in a bay off the coast of Krk. Krk belonged to the

during much of the Middle Ages until its dissolution, when its destinies followed those 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 ...

. It became part of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

(later called Yugoslavia) after World War I, in 1920. After that date, the village of Veglia/Krk remained the only predominantly Italian-speaking municipality in Yugoslavia. After World War II, most of the Italians left. The island of Krk is a participant in the 2020

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

project. Through the program "27 neighborhoods", the city of Krk,

and

will be involved in different events during the entire year.{{cite web , publisher= Visit Krk , url= https://www.visitkrk.com/en/the_island_of_krk__neighbourhood_of_european_culture_capital_of_2020/504_504/33 , title= The island of Krk - neighbourhood of European culture capital of 2020 , access-date= June 6, 2020 , archive-date= June 5, 2020 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200605084619/https://www.visitkrk.com/en/the_island_of_krk__neighbourhood_of_european_culture_capital_of_2020/504_504/33 , url-status= dead Along with them, the Municipality of Baška participated in the program "Lungomare Art", based on which a permanent art installation "Drops" was set up, which puts emphasis on traditional drywall architecture.

Monuments and sights

* The

Jurandvor Jurandvor is a village 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, S ...

that was made in 1100 * Church of St. Lucy in Jurandvor, where the famous Baška tablet was found * Art installation "Drops" on the hill above Baška *

Krk Cathedral The Krk Cathedral or fully Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Croatian language, Croatian: ''Katedrala uznesenja blažene Djevice Marije'' or ''Krčka katedrala'') is a cathedral in the town of Krk (town), Krk on the northern ...

that is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary *

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 ...

which connects the island of Krk with the mainland since July 19, 1980

Language

Krk is well known for its historical language diversity. The

Middle Chakavian Central Chakavian (also translated as Middle Chakavian; ) is a dialect of the Chakavian variety of Croatian. It is spoken on the islands Dugi, Kornati, Lošinj, Krk, Rab, Ugljan (except the southernmost Southern Chakavian village of Kukljica, ...

dialect of Croatian is the primary dialect used on the island. Five languages used to be spoken on the island: Venetian, Italian, Croatian, Dalmatian and Istro-Romanian, although the latter two have gone extinct in the island (and everywhere else in the case of Dalmatian).{{cite book , author=William B Brahms , title=Notable Last Facts: A Compendium of Endings, Conclusions, Terminations and Final Events throughout History , publisher=Reference Desk Press , year=2005 , location=Original from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, page=183 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wIwYAAAAIAAJ , isbn=978-0-9765325-0-7 {{sfn, Spicijarić Paškvan, 2014, p=73 The Croatian dialect of Krk has Istro-Romanian influence.

Municipalities

The

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and larger settlements on Krk include: * The

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

city of

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 ...

, with 6,243 inhabitants (2011), located at {{coord, 45, 13, N, 14, 32, E}. *

: 2,987 people *

Malinska-Dubašnica Malinska-Dubašnica is a municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county on the island Krk of in western Croatia. Its centre is Malinska. There were 3,212 inhabitants, of whom 90% were ethnic Croats at the 2021 census. It was established as a mun ...

–

, the capital of municipality: 3,142 people *

Punat Punat is a municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia on the island of Krk. The municipality has a population of 1,900, with 90% Croats (2021 Croatian census, 2021). With Stara Baška being the only other settlement in th ...

: 1,953 people *

: 2,023 people * Baška: 1,668 people *

: 1,270 people * Gabonjin * Krašica *

Anton Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname), a list of people with the surname Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, ...

Pinezići Pinezići is a village on the island of Krk, Croatia. It is situated in the western part of the island, 9km from the city of Krk. Nearby Pinezići is Valbiska, a ferry port that operates ferries to Lopar on Rab and Merag on Cres Cres is ...

Glavotok Glavotok is a village on the island of Krk, Croatia. It is situated in the westernmost part of the island, 17 km from the city of Krk. History Its history dates to the 14th century when it was feudal land under the Frankopan family. In 14 ...

* Valbiska * Njivice * Poljice *

Nenadići Nenadići (also known as Nenadic) is a village on the island of Krk. Loacation Nenadic is located in the western part of the island of Krk in the area called Šotovento. Namely, the surrounding hills of Vrhure (238 m), Kukurik (176 m), Klobu� ...

* Sveti Vid Miholjice

Roman Catholic bishopric

{{main, Roman Catholic Diocese of Krk * Church of St. Dunat

Other

The

45th parallel north The 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the ...

passes through the island of Krk, making it positioned halfway between the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

and the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. The crossing of the 45th parallel is marked with a signpost.

Genetics

The frequency of Haplogroup I, rare elsewhere in Croatia and most of Europe, is high among the population. This characteristic is also found within

Rusyns Rusyns, also known as Carpatho-Rusyns, Carpatho-Russians, Ruthenians, or Rusnaks, are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group from the Carpathian Rus', Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn language, Rusyn, an East Slavic lan ...

who are from southern Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Nikitin 2009: 6/53 in Lemkos
''"Lemkos shared the highest frequency of haplogroup I ever reported and the highest frequency of haplogroup M* in the region."''{{harvnb, Cvjetan, 2004: 15/133

Popular culture

The fictional island Everon from the

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s '' Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis'' and Arma Reforger is based on Krk.{{citation needed, date=August 2019 The third season of the American

TV-series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...

The Witcher ''The Witcher'' (, ) is a series of 9 fantasy novels and 15 short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous witcher, Geralt of Rivia. Witchers are monster hunters given superhuman abilities for the ...

'' was filmed on Krk in April 2022.{{Cite web, url=https://www.croatiaweek.com/croatian-island-in-new-season-of-the-witcher-just-released-on-netflix/, title=Croatian island in new season of 'The Witcher' just released on Netflix, publisher=Croatia Week, date=29 June 2023, access-date=29 June 2023

References

{{Reflist

Footnotes

{{reflist, group=Footnote

Sources

*{{cite journal, last1=Cvjetan, year=2004, ref={{harvid, Cvjetan, 2004, first1=S, last2=Tolk, first2=HV, last3=Lauc, first3=LB, last4=Colak, first4=I, last5=Dordević, first5=D, last6=Efremovska, first6=L, last7=Janićijević, first7=B, last8=Kvesić, first8=A, last9=Klarić, first9=IM, last10=Metspalu, first10=E, last11=Pericić, first11=M, last12=Parik, first12=J, last13=Popović, first13=D, last14=Sijacki, first14=A, last15=Terzić, first15=R, last16=Villems, first16=R, last17=Rudan, first17=P, title=Frequencies of mtDNA haplogroups in southeastern Europe – Croatians, Bosnians and Herzegovinians, Serbians, Macedonians and Macedonian Romani, journal=Collegium Antropologicum, volume=28, issue=1, pages=193–8, pmid=15636075, display-authors=8 * {{cite journal, url=https://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/763739.Dalmatski_mletaki.pdf, title=Dalmatski (veljotski) i mletački utjecaji u govorima otoka Krka, last=Spicijarić Paškvan, first=Nina, year=2014, journal=Krčki zbornik, issue=70, pages=71–88, language=hr, access-date=June 5, 2017 * {{cite journal, url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/20029, title=Dvadeseta obljetnica mosta kopno – otok Krk, trans-title=Twentieth anniversary of the Krk – mainland bridge, language=Croatian, journal=Građevinar, format=PDF, last=Simović, first=Veselin, volume=52, issue=8, year=2000, pages=431–442, access-date=21 January 2020

Bibliography

Geography

* {{cite book , date=April 2016 , first=Mirela , last=Slukan Altić , title=Povijesna topografija otoka Krka: Slike vremena u zrcalu starih karata , isbn=978-953-347-073-3 , language=hr , trans-title=Historical Topography of the Island of Krk: Pictures of the Times in the Mirror of Old Maps Tirage: 500.

Bibliography

* {{cite book , date=February 1959 , first=Željko , last=Poljak , chapter=Krk , page=13 , title=Kazalo za "Hrvatski planinar" i "Naše planine" 1898—1958 , series=Naše planine , issn=0354-0650 , volume=XI , issue=1–2 , url=https://www.hps.hr/hp-arhiva/195901.pdf

Geology

* {{cite thesis , date=2021-11-21 , first=Ela , last=Šegina , title=Spatial Analysis in Karst Geomorphology: An Example from Krk Island, Croatia , isbn=978-3-030-61449-2 , series=Springer Theses , eissn=2190-5061

History

*''Anton Bozanić: Mahnić i njegova Staroslavenska akademija. Krk u. Rijeka 2002''.

External links

{{Commons category, Island of Krk *{{Wikivoyage-inline
Krk official site (tourist board)

Pictures Krk

Krk scuba diving centre

Krk hiking trails & guidebook
{{Islands of Croatia {{Inhabited Islands of Croatia {{Authority control Islands of Croatia Islands of the Adriatic Sea Important Bird Areas of Croatia Important Bird Areas of Adriatic islands Landforms of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County

History

Prehistory

Roman era

Migration Period

Reign of Croatian Counts and Kings

Reign of the Krk Counts (from 1430 on – the Frankopan family)

Venetian Rule (1480–1797)

Austrian Rule

20th century

Ship Building

Economics and infrastructure

Geography

Important Bird Area

Culture and religion

Monuments and sights

Language

Municipalities

Roman Catholic bishopric

Other

Genetics

Popular culture

See also

References

Footnotes

Sources

Bibliography

Geography

Bibliography

Geology

History

External links