Dugi Otok
Encyclopedia
Dugi otok is the seventh largest island in the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

, part of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

. It is located off the Dalmatian coast
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

, west of Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...

. It is the largest and eastern-most of the Zadarian Islands, and derives its name from its distinctive shape (it is 45 km long by 5 km wide with an area of 114 km2). Its elevation reaches 300 m; and many of its higher portions contain stands of Maritime Pine
Maritime Pine
Pinus pinaster, the Maritime Pine, is a pine native to the western and southwestern Mediterranean region. The pejorative name 'pinaster' is derived from pinus + aster, translating as 'a poor imitation of a pine' Pinus pinaster, the Maritime Pine, is a pine native to the western and southwestern...

.

The western coast is tall and rugged, and many of the towns are clustered on the eastern side, including Sali, the largest, Božava, Dragove
Dragove
Dragove is a village in the north-eastern part of the island of Dugi otok in Zadar county, Croatia. Dragove is located on the regional road running along the entire island...

, Soline
Soline
Soline is a small Croatian village on the island Dugi otok. It is located in a large bay Solišćica. It was named after the old salt pans that are in the bay. It is divided into two bodies, and to the Bura and Japar....

, Brbinj
Brbinj
Brbinj is a small village on the north east coast of Dugi otok island in Croatian region of Zadar county. It embraces two distinct bays, a four-fingered Jaz bay in the south and the Bura bay in the north...

, Luka, Polje, Verona, Savar, Veli Rat
Veli Rat
Veli Rat is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D109 highway....

, Zaglav
Zaglav
Zaglav is a port village in Croatia. It is connected by the D125 highway and by ferry....

, and Žman
Žman
Žman is a village in Croatia....

. A nature park, Telašćica
Telašćica
Telašćica is a bay that is situated in the southeastern portion of the island of Dugi Otok, Croatia in the Adriatic Sea. It is a designated nature park, full of wildlife and sea creatures.-Geography:...

, covers the southern part of the island and is adjacent to Kornati Islands National Park
Kornati
The Kornati archipelago in Croatia is located in the northern part of Dalmatia, west from Šibenik, in the Šibenik-Knin county. With 35 km in length and 140 islands, some large, some small, in a sea area of about 320 km², Kornati are the densest archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea...

.

History

The island has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...

 in the 10th century mentioned it under the name of Pizuh, and later it was called Insula Tilagus in documents ("pelagos"in Greek means sea), and its Latin name was Insula maior. In the 15th century it was registered as Veli otok.

The old and main settlement on the island was located in the southern area. It has only been inhabited significantly since the Turkish
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 invasions (15th-16th centuries). Until then the island belonged to Zadar monasteries and citizens. Nowadays there is a total of 10 settlements on the island, and they are all on the north-eastern side of the island concerned primarily with fishing, although salt was once produced here.

The village of Veli Rat is also home to the Veli Rat lighthouse, another spectacular sight. The beautiful island of Dugi otok, with a Mediterranean climate and ancient Croatian culture, receives very few visitors. Olive oil, figs, cheese and wine accompany the seafood in the natives' diet. A definite step back in time, the island boasts an ancient pre-Roman church and some Roman ruins. It is in close proximity to Kornati
Kornati
The Kornati archipelago in Croatia is located in the northern part of Dalmatia, west from Šibenik, in the Šibenik-Knin county. With 35 km in length and 140 islands, some large, some small, in a sea area of about 320 km², Kornati are the densest archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea...

.

Description

More than 1500 hectares are covered with vineyards, orchards and arable land, about 752 hectares are pasture land and about 300 hectares undergrowth which in some places is used as a forest land. The vegetation is more pronounced in the northern and central areas of the island. The south-eastern part belong to the Kornati
Kornati
The Kornati archipelago in Croatia is located in the northern part of Dalmatia, west from Šibenik, in the Šibenik-Knin county. With 35 km in length and 140 islands, some large, some small, in a sea area of about 320 km², Kornati are the densest archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea...

.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK