Sveti Jure (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: ''Saint George'') is a mountain 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, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

near the town of

Makarska Makarska () is a town on the Adriatic coastline of Croatia, about southeast of Split (city), Split and northwest of Dubrovnik, in the Split-Dalmatia County. Makarska is a prominent regional tourist center, located on a horseshoe-shaped bay bet ...

that is part of the

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern Europe, Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia ...

. At 1,762

m.a.s.l. 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 vari ...

, it is the highest point in the

Biokovo Biokovo () is the second-highest mountain range in Croatia, located along the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea, between the rivers of Cetina and Neretva. It is sometimes referred to as ''Bijakova'', especially among inhabitants of the ...

mountain range and one of the highest peaks of Croatia.

History

Sveti Jure is named after the Christian martyr

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

, who has a chapel dedicated to him 50 metres below the mountain's summit. The chapel is the highest church in Croatia; it was likely built or renovated in the 13th century, and its existence was first recorded in 1640. The chapel holds Mass annually on the last Saturday of July, rather than the traditional celebration of

Saint George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, regions, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, England, Ethiopia, Greece, Georgia, Port ...

on April 23, due to frequent bad weather in April. The summit of Sveti Jure is accessible via the Biokovo Road, the highest road in Croatia. The road was extended in the mid-1960s to facilitate the construction of a

television tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-m ...

at the mountain's summit by Television Zagreb, and was paved in 1979. The original stone chapel was demolished in 1965 as part of the construction, and was rebuilt in 1968 in concrete with a stone covering. Sveti Jure was originally included as part of the 2017 Tour of Croatia cycling race, but was removed due to inclement weather. The mountain was readded the following year to the 2018 Tour of Croatia, serving as the summit finish of the race's third stage.

Geography and climbing

Sveti Jure is the highest peak of Biokovo, a

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 ...

mountain range along Croatia's

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 ...

coast. The

Croatian Mountaineering Association The Croatian Mountaineering Association () covers both mountaineering and a broad range of related activities. Unlike the majority of the international mountaineering associations, the association's remit extends to speleology, climbing, orienteeri ...

refers to Sveti Jure as either the second-highest or the third-highest peak in Croatia. If Sveti Jure's television tower—with a height of roughly —is included in the calculation, the top of this tower becomes the country's highest point at approximately 1,850 m.a.s.l. The mountain's true summit is inside a fence around the tower and not accessible to visitors. The summit offers views of the nearby town of Makarska, the Makarska Riviera, and

Brač Brač is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, with an area of , making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. It is separated from the mainland by the Brač Channel, which is wide.Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

in Italy are visible away. Most visitors arrive at the summit of Sveti Jure via car; it can also be reached on bicycle or on foot. From Makarska, the journey to the summit lasts along the Biokovo Road. Hikers can approach the summit from multiple starting points: via Milići; via Turija and Ljubović; and via Makarska and the Štropac and Vošac peaks of Biokovo. The "Pod Jurom" mountain hut is located along the Biokovo Road beneath the summit. It was built as part of the television tower's construction and opened to hikers in 1983.

Climate and ecology

The mean annual temperature at the summit of Sveti Jure is , making it one of the coldest points of Croatia. The peak has snow for most of the year. The summit of Sveti Jure is home to several species of lizard, including the

Mosor rock lizard The Mosor rock lizard (''Dinarolacerta mosorensis'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is found in southern Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Its possible presence in Albania requires confirmation. It is named aft ...

, the

common wall lizard The common wall lizard (''Podarcis muralis'') is a species of lizard with a large distribution in Europe and well-established introduced populations in North America, where it is also called the European wall lizard. It can grow to about in to ...

, and the

Dalmatian wall lizard The Dalmatian wall lizard (''Podarcis melisellensis'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, ...

. Plant species in and around the summit include silvery dwarf harebell, rock bell, sandwort,

leopard's bane Leopard's bane or leopard's-bane may refer to: *''Aconitum'', also known as aconite, monkshood, wolf's bane, women's bane, Devil's helmet or blue rocket, a genus of flowering plants belonging to the buttercup family *''Arnica montana'', also known ...

, and

martagon lily ''Lilium martagon'', the martagon lily or Turk's cap lily, is a Eurasian species of lily. It has a widespread native region extending from Portugal east through Europe and Asia as far east as Mongolia. Description It is stem-rooting, growing be ...

Gallery

File:Makarska-wakacje 158.jpg, View of Sveti Jure summit File:Crkva na Biokovu.jpg, Church of Sveti Jure File:Sv. Jure, Sveti Jure, 1762 m. - panoramio.jpg, Sveti Jure television tower File:HR-Biokovo-SvJure.jpg, Climbers ascending Sveti Jure File:Sveti Jure (Biokovo, Croatia) summit.JPG, Sveti Jure summit marker File:Going up to Sveti Jure.jpg, Biokovo Road to Sveti Jure File:Biokovo mountains.jpg, Panoramic view from Sveti Jure summit File:Biokovo mountains (14417998388).jpg, View north from Sveti Jure summit

Notes

References