Mljet () is the southernmost and easternmost of the larger

Adriatic 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 ...

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 ...

s of the

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 ...

region of

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 ...

. In the west of the island is the

Mljet National Park The Mljet National Park is a national park that covers the western part of the Adriatic island of Mljet, in the south of Croatia. Its area includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea belt 500 metres w ...

Population

In the 2011 census, Mljet had a population of 1,088. Ethnic

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 ...

made up 97.33% of the population. In 2021, the municipality had 1,062 residents in the following 14 settlements: *

Babino Polje Babino Polje is a village in Dalmatia, southern Croatia. With a population of 262, it is the largest settlement on the island of Mljet and it is connected by the D120 state road. Demographics According to the 2021 census, its population was 262. ...

, population 262 * Blato, population 31 * Goveđari, population 138 * Korita, population 52 *

Kozarica Kozarica is a village in Croatia, and is a part of Mljet, Dubrovnik-Neretva County The Dubrovnik-Neretva County (; , ) is the southernmost county of Croatia. The county seat is Dubrovnik and other large towns are Korčula, Metković, Opuzen ...

, population 30 *

Maranovići Maranovići is one of the oldest villages on Mljet 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 ...

, population 29 *

Okuklje Okuklje is a village on the island of Mljet in southern 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 northwe ...

, population 38 *

Polače Polače is a village on the island of Mljet in southern 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 northwe ...

, population 111 *

Pomena Pomena is a village on the island of Mljet in southern 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 northwes ...

, population 62 *

Prožura Prožura is a naselje, village on the island of Mljet in southern Croatia. It is connected by the road D120 (Croatia), D120. History Dating back to medieval times, Prožura is one of the island's few settlements not visible from the sea. Defense ...

, population 26 * Prožurska Luka, population 48 * Ropa, population 23 *

Saplunara Saplunara is a village on the island of Mljet in southern 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 north ...

, population 83 *

Sobra Sobra is a port village on the island of Mljet in southern 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 nor ...

, population 129

History

Mljet was discovered by ancient

Greco-Roman geographers The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

, who wrote the first records and descriptions. The island was first described by

Scylax of Caryanda Scylax of Caryanda (; ) was a Greek explorer and writer during the late 6th and early 5th centuries BCE of the Achaemenid Empire. His own writings are lost, though occasionally cited or quoted by later Greek and Roman authors. The periplus sometim ...

in the 6th century BC; others prefer the text, ''

Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax The ''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' is an ancient Greek periplus (περίπλους ''períplous'', 'circumnavigation') describing the sea route around the Mediterranean and Black Sea. It probably dates from the mid-4th century BC, specifically t ...

''. In both texts, it is named Melite and supported by

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Go ...

.Bryant, Jacob (1715–1804
A New System, Or, An Analysis of Ancient Mythology: Wherein an Attempt is Made to Divest Tradition of Fable and to Reduce the Truth to Its Original Purity
The Third Edition in Six Volumes, ''printed for J. Walker''; ''W. J. and J. Richardson''; ''by R. Faulder Press'', 1807., Vol. V., pp 357-358.

Agathemerus Agathemerus () was a Greek geographer who during the Roman Greece period published a small two-part geographical work titled ''A Sketch of Geography in Epitome'' (), addressed to his pupil Philon. The son of Orthon, Agathemerus is speculated to ha ...

and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

call the island Melita. Agesilaus of Anaxarba in

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

, the father of

Oppian Oppian (, ; ), also known as Oppian of Anazarbus, of Corycus, or of Cilicia, was a 2nd-century Greco-Roman poet during the reign of the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, who composed the ''Halieutica'', a five-book didactic epic on fishing. ...

, was banished to Mljet by the Roman Emperor

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

(AD 145–211) (or to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (; 15 December 130 – 23 January 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with Ma ...

Mljet is mentioned around 950 by the

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos in his ''

De Administrando Imperio (; ) is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byz ...

'' as one of the islands held by the

Narentines The Narentines were a South Slavic tribe noted as pirates on the Adriatic Sea in the 9th and 10th centuries. They occupied an area of southern Dalmatia centered at the river Neretva (). Named ''Narentani'' in Venetian sources, they were called ...

. The island was often a controversy of ownership between them and

Zachlumia Zachlumia or Zachumlia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Zahumlje, Захумље, ), also Hum, was a medieval principality located in the modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia (today parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, r ...

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

called the island "Melita" or "

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

" which over the centuries evolved to become the

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

name, Mljet (). Mljet has been regarded as the "Melita" on which

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

was shipwrecked (

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

27:39–28:11), this view being first expounded in the 10th century, by

Eastern Roman 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 ...

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 ...

. Paul's shipwreck is generally placed on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

island of Malta. Mljet and Malta had the same name in the Greek and Roman sources; the mention of a viper in Acts 28:3–5 was thought to be in favour of Mljet (there are snakes on both Mljet and Malta but only the former is home to a venomous snake). A harbour named after the Apostle exists on both islands. The

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

s from

Pulsano Pulsano ( Brindisino: or ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Taranto in the Apulia region of southeast Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

became the feudal lords of the island in 1151, having come from

Monte Gargano Gargano () is a historical and geographical sub-region in the province of Foggia, Apulia, southeast Italy, consisting of a wide isolated mountain massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of a promontory projecting into ...

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 ...

. They came ashore in the Sutmiholjska cove and in 1187–1198

Desa, Grand Prince of Serbia Desa ( sr-cyr, Деса)He is also known as Desa Vukanović. was the Grand Prince of Serbia from ca. 1162 to ca. 1165. He was one of several sons of grand prince Uroš I (d. 1145). Sometime between 1153 and 1155, Desa tried to depose his brother, ...

, of the

House of Vojislavljević A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

built and donated to them the Church and Monastery of

Saint Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

on the islet in the Big Lake () towards the north-west end of the island.

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

issued a document consecrating the church in 1198. The Benedictines renounced their rule over Mljet in 1345, keeping only a third of the land. The island got a statute and a municipality in

. It was formally annexed by the

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

in 1410. According to the Contract with the Benedictines, the municipality had to pay 300 perperas each year. Mljet pomena

In the 16th century, the monastery was the center of the Mljet Congregation (''Congregatio Melitensis'' or ''Melitana''), gathering all the monasteries of Benedictine monks in the area of the Republic of Ragusa. The first president of the Congregation was

Mavro Vetranović Mauro Vetrani (; 1482–1576) was a writer and Benedictine monk from Ragusa. Biography Born in Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik), then the Republic of Ragusa, in 1482, he entered the Benedictine Order in 1507 on the island of Meleda, and after a period ...

, the abbot of the Mljet monastery and the famous poet. Another great poet was abbot there—

Ignjat Đurđević Ignjat Đurđević, also known as Ignazio Giorgi (February 1675 – 21 January 1737) was a Dubrovnik, Ragusan baroque poet and translator, best known for his long poem ("The Sighs of the Repentant Mary Magdalene, Magdalene"). He wrote poetry i ...

in the 18th century. As time went by, the Benedictine monastery on Mljet lost its importance, while the seat of the Mljet Congregation moved to Sveti Jakov near

Ragusa Ragusa may refer to: Places Croatia * Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...

. In 1809, during the rule of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, the Mljet monastery was disbanded. When

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

took over the island, it placed the forestry office in the building. Between the world wars, the building was owned by the Diocese of Ragusa (Dubrovnik). In 1960 it became a hotel, and in 1998 it was returned to the Diocese. The island has a long history of eco-damage. In order to ease their transport problems, the monks dug a channel to the south coast, from the Big Lake, thus turning both fresh-water lakes into seawater-based ones. The second incident involves

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, A ...

Small Indian mongoose The small Indian mongoose (''Urva auropunctata'') is a mongoose species native to Iraq and northern India; it has also been introduced to several Caribbean and Pacific islands. Taxonomy ''Mangusta auropunctata'' was the scientific name proposed ...

s were introduced onto the island in the early 20th century in order to reduce the ''

Vipera ammodytes ''Vipera ammodytes'', commonly known as horned viper, long-nosed viper, nose-horned viper, and sand viper,Street, D. 1979. ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of viper found in northe ...

'' population (the island was apparently completely overrun). Whilst the mongooses completed this task, they also disposed of pretty much all the birdlife of the island. To this day, the island is notably short of hedgerow birds, such as sparrows. Mongooses are a hazard for domestic poultry, and are also known to cause damage in vineyards and orchards.

Geography

Mljet lies south of the

Pelješac Pelješac (; Chakavian: ; ) is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia. From the isthmus that begins at Ston, to the top of Cape Loviš ...

peninsula, from which it is divided by the Mljet Channel. Its length is ; its average breadth . It is of volcanic origin, with numerous chasms and gorges, of which the longest, the Babino Polje, connects the north and south of the island. Port Polače, the principal harbour in the north, is a port of call for tourist ferries. Mljet contains one hotel—The Odisej (from the Greek ''Odysseus'') in the north-west corner of the island. The northwestern part of the island includes an inland lake as well as a small island within it. It has been part of the

since November 12, 1960. Over 84% of the island of is forest. The island's geological structure consists of

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 forming ridges, crests and slopes. A few depressions on the island of Mljet are below sea level and form non-permanent brackish lakes known as ''blatine'' ("mud-lakes") or ''slatine'' ("salt-lakes"). The climate is

; an average air temperature in January is 9 °C (48 °F) and in July about 24 °C (75 °F). Precipitation (mostly falling between October and April) averages between 35 and 45 inches annually, with the hills receiving the highest amounts.

Settlements

According to the 2011 census, the settlements of Mljet have the following population: *

(270): largest settlement, police station, school * Goveđari (151) **Babine Kuće **Pristanište **Soline *

(52) *

(113): ferry port, Roman ruins * Blato (39) * Ropa (37): auto camp *

(28) *

(131): ferry port *

(40) ** Prožurska Luka (40) *

(43) *

(31) * Korita (46) *

(67): beach

Transportation

The island of Mljet has no airport.

Dubrovnik Airport Dubrovnik Ruđer Bošković Airport (; ), also referred to as Čilipi Airport (), is the international airport of Dubrovnik, Croatia. The airport is located approximately 15.5 km (9.5 mi) from Dubrovnik city center, near Čilipi. It was ...

on the mainland provides the main international connection for the island. Mljet has ferry lines with Pelješac peninsula and Dubrovnik. Transportation to the island is provided by

Jadrolinija Jadrolinija is a Croatian ferry company. It is state-owned and it primarily connects Croatian islands to the mainland by operating regular passenger and cargo transport services. The company mainly operates car ferries on domestic routes along t ...

ferry service. Sobra, the main port on the island, is connected to Dubrovnik-Gruž and

Ston Ston () is a settlement and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. History Because of its geopolitical and strategic position, Ston has had a rich history since ...

via a car ferry. There are two type of ferries available: a car ferry and a faster catamaran ferry (2.5 hours and 90 minutes to Dubrovnik, respectively). The two-lane paved

D120 road D120 is the main state road on island of Mljet in Croatia connecting Mljet National Park and resorts on the island to Sobra and the ferry port in the town, from where Jadrolinija ferries sail to the mainland, docking in Prapratno and the D416 (C ...

runs throughout the island. Scheduled buses on Mljet travel just once or twice a day.

References

External links

Island of MljetMljet Travel Guide
{{authority control Landforms of Dubrovnik-Neretva County Forests of Croatia Islands of Croatia Islands of the Adriatic Sea Municipalities of Croatia