Sveti Andrija (, meaning "
Saint Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
"), often called Svetac (, meaning "
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
"), is an
island in the
Croatian part of the
Adriatic Sea. It is situated from
Komiža (a town on the island of
Vis). It is uninhabited, although it used to have permanent residents.
Svetac was inhabited in prehistoric era, as evidenced by archeological remains, the oldest of which were found in Tovorski bod, a cave in the south part of the island. A Benedictine monastery built on the island was abandoned in late 15th or early 16th century. In 1760, a small
pine tar
Pine tar is a form of wood tar produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood in anoxic conditions (dry distillation or destructive distillation). The wood is rapidly decomposed by applying heat and pressure in a closed container; th ...
factory was opened. After the pine forest on the island was completely cut down, the factory was closed, and Svetac was acquired by members of Zanki family, who settled there. The population census on Svetac from 1951 was around 60, all members of Zanki family. The last one of the group who lived there all year round was Antonija Zanki, an elderly woman who died in 2001. Now members of Zanki family effectively live there four to six months a year, from late spring to autumn, still keeping up the houses of their grandfathers, fishing, making red wine and olive oil. Most of members of Zanki family who own this, biggest private island in Adriatic, live in Komiža now (14 nm east). Taking the fact that island is in open seas, without any natural protected bay, gives even greater respect to members of this family who managed to survive there for centuries, and furthermore created a special kind of living, especially today.
Approximately 300 meters off the south-west coast of the island there is the islet of Kamik, and farther on the open sea there is the
volcanic island called
Jabuka. About
to the southeast there is the small volcanic island of
Brusnik.
Svetac is a breeding ground for a small number of
Eleonora's falcons, a rare bird with only c. 40–80 nesting pairs estimated to live on the outer Croatian Adriatic islands.
The falcons migrate to
Madagascar every September and return to their nests in April.
See also
*
Jabuka–Andrija Fault
References
Bibliography
*
*Mithad Kozličić, Josip Faričić:
The Significance of Sv. Andrija Island (Svetac) on a Sailing Route Across the Adriatic Presented on Old Geographical Maps
{{Authority control
Uninhabited islands of Croatia
Islands of the Adriatic Sea
Landforms of Split-Dalmatia County
Private islands of Croatia