Hvar

Hvar is an island and a city on the island. The island is know as the Island of the Sun because of the many sunny days. The population is 11,000 people, but it expands to 40,000 during the summer with all the tourists. The island is famous for its lavender and rosemary essential oils. Unfortunately, a 1999 forest fire destroyed 90% of the lavender fields. The island has been inhabited since 4000 BC. The Ionian Greeks arrived in 400 BC and remained here because of the large fertile valley (2 km. By 6 km.) which they divided into plots with stone walls in between, the Stari Grad. The island is filled with these stone walls, because the limestone rock had to be cleared from the fields and they also served to prevent erosion of the soil. In the 7th century, the Slavs arrived from the mainland, then in the 13th century the island was ruled by the Venetians. It has a well protected harbor and thus became a key trading center for the Venetians.

The fields of Hvar with stone walls

 

 

The old town again has a Venetian fort protecting the town and an old town where most of the buidings are 15th century Venetian style. As we entered the town, it was first communion Sunday at the local church. Along the port is an old arsenal where the ship were repaired, with a theatre on the 2nd floor. We enjoyed our latte watching the pleasure yachts along the harbor.

St. Mary of Grace, Vrboska

Then we headed to the village of Vrboska with a canal down the center of the town. Here we saw houses with their original slate roofs (though not in very good repair). Here also was a unique fortified church, St. Mary of Grace, built in 1571 which also served as a fortress against the Turks. But the highlight was our wine tasting at a family winery. Bogdanjusa was a particularly pleasant white wine and Plavac, a red wine made from an offshoot of Zinfandel grapes. We would highly recommend either of this Croatian wines. Our happy group then set sail in the afternoon for Split, only about a 2 hour sail. That evening we were entertained by Croatian dancers. They performed dances from the Split region, Zagreb region, and the northern border with Hungary. Each dance had an appropriate costume.