Mljet is the most southerly and easterly of the larger Adriatic
islandAn island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, .There are two main types of islands:...
s of the
DalmatiaDalmatia , is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and is situated in modern Croatia. It spreads between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor, in Montenegro, in the southeast...
region of
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
.
Population
According to the 2001 census, Mljet has population of 1,111.
CroatsCroats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 5 million Croats living in the southern Central Europe region, along the east bank of the Adriatic Sea and an estimated 9 million throughout the world...
make up an absolute majority with 97.93% of the population.
Geography
Mljet lies south of the
PelješacPelješac Pelješac Pelješac (Chakavian: Pelišac (Italian Sabioncello:) is a peninsula in southern Croatia, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County. It is the second largest peninsula in Croatia. From the isthmus that begins at Ston, to the top of Cape Lovišta, it is 65 km long. The name 'Pelješac' is most...
peninsula, from which it is divided by the Mljet Channel. Its length is 23
milesThe nautical mile is a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian....
; 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 sea as well as a small island within it. It has been a
national parkA national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land, declared or owned by a national government, set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, and protected from most development...
since November 12, 1960.
Ancient Greeks called the island "Melita" or "
honeyHoney is a sweet food made by some insects using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
" which over the centuries evolved to become the
SlavicThe Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
name, Mljet (pronounced "mill-YET").
History
Mljet has been discovered by ancient Greco-Roman geographers, whom brought first records and descriptions. The island was first described by
Scylax of CaryandaScylax of Caryanda was a renowned Carian explorer of the 6th century BCE.-Exploration:In about 515 BCE, Scylax was sent by King Darius I of Persia to follow the course of the Indus River and discover where it led. Scylax and his companions set out from city of Caspatyrus in Gandara, in today's...
in the
6th century BCThe sixth century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC.In India, Panini, sometime during this century, composed a grammar for Sanskrit, which is the one of oldest extant grammar of any language after 15 other proto-dravidian languages like Brahmi.In the Near East,...
others prefer the text,
Periplus of Pseudo-ScylaxThe Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax is an ancient Greek periplus, dating from 4th or 3rd century BC. The name Scylax is thought to be an appeal to authority: Herodotus mentions a Scylax of Caryanda, a Greek navigator who explored the coast of the Indian Ocean on behalf of the Persians.-Text:Pseudo-Scylax...
. In both texts it is named Melite and supported by
Apollonius of RhodesApollonius Rhodius, also known as Apollonius of Rhodes , early 3rd century BCE - after 246 BCE, was a librarian at the Library of Alexandria...
.
[Sanader, Mirjana. Kroatien in der Antike, Von Zabern, 2007., ISBN 380533740X, p 58. ] [Bryant, Jacob. (1715-1804) A New System, Or, An Analysis of Antient 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. ] AgathemerusAgathemerus 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 have lived in the 3rd century...
and
Pliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was an author, naturalist, and natural philosopher as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
call the island Melita.
Agesilaus was a Greek historian who wrote a work on the early history of Italy, fragments of which are preserved in Plutarch's "Parallel Lives", and in Stobaeus' Florilegium.....
of Anaxarba, who had been governor of
CiliciaIn antiquity, Cilicia now known as Çukurova, was a commonly used name of the south coastal region of Asia Minor south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, was banished to Mljet by the
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
Emperor Septimus Severus (AD 145-211).
Mljet is mentioned around 950 by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos in his
Of Ruling an Empire as one of the islands held by the Neretvians. The island was often a controversy of ownership between
PaganiaPagania was a land settled by the South Slavic tribe known as the Narentines in an area of southern Dalmatia , west of the river Neretva...
and Zachlumia until the stronger unifications of the Serbian realm in the 12th century.
Mljet has been regarded as the "Melita" on which
Saint PaulPaul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, ...
was shipwrecked, this view being first expounded in the 10th century, by Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. This view conflicts with the historically attested shipwreck of Saint Paul on the Mediterranean island of
MaltaMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
. A harbour named after the Saint exists on both islands.
The
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
s from Pulsano in
ApuliaApulia is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its southern portion known as Salento, a peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy...
became the feudal lords of the island in 1151, having come from
Monte GarganoMonte Gargano is a mountain in Apulia, Italy forming the backbone of the peninsula Promontorio del Gargano on the Adriatic Sea. Most of the upland area, about 1,200 km² above the development along the coasts and in the lower valleys, is now part of a national park, the Parco nazionale del...
in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. They came ashore in the Sutmiholjska cove and Serbian Prince Desa of the
House of VojislavljevićThe House of Vojislav was a medieval dynasty that inherited the claims over Duklja of the old ruling House of Saint Vladimir and the Serbian House of Vlastimir dynasty. It ruled Duklja and the surrounding territories; including Zahumlje, Rascia and Bosnia, where the dynasty's side branches have...
built and donated to them the Church and
MonasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
of Saint Mary on the islet in the Big Lake (1187-1198).
Pope Innocent IIIPope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. He was born with the name Lotario de Conti.-Early life and election to the Papacy:Lotario de' Conti was born Gavignano, near Anagni...
issued a document consecrating the church in 1198.
The island was under the rule of
Stefan NemanjaStefan Nemanja was a Medieval Serb nobleman, descended from the Vukanović who was Grand Prince of the medieval Serb state of Raška from 1166 to 1199. He established control over the territories of neighboring Serb states, including Zeta/Doclea, and unified them into a single state...
in 1166-1168. In 1222, the Serbian King Stefan II the First-crowned of Nemanja gifted his lands and monasteries and church on
KrkarKorčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva county of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast...
to the Benedictine Order of Mljet. After serving as the last Serbian maritime bastion,
Serbian EmperorThe Serbian Empire was a medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the medieval Serbian kingdom in the 14th century...
Stefan Uroš V gifted the island to Balša I in 1357.
The Benedictines renounced their rule over the island in 1345, keeping only a third of the land. The island got a statute and a municipality in Babino Polje. It was formally annexed by the
Republic of RagusaThe Republic of Ragusa, or Republic of Dubrovnik, was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from the 14th century AD until the year 1808...
in 1410. According to the Contract with the Benedictines, the municipality had to pay 300 perpers each year.
In the 16th century, the monastery was the center of the Mljet Congregation (Congregatio Melitensem or Melitanam), gathering all the monasteries of Benedictine monks in the area of the Republic of Ragusa. The first president of the Congregation was
Mavro VetranovićMavro Vetranović was a prolific Croatian writer and Benedictine friar from Dubrovnik.Born in Dubrovnik in 1482, he entered the Benedictine Order in 1507 on the island of Mljet, and after a period of education in Monte Cassino in Italy returned to Mljet as the abbot of the monastery...
, the abbot of the Mljet monastery and the famous poet. Another great poet was abbot there - Ignjat Đurđević 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.
In 1809, during the rule of Napoleon, the Mljet monastery was disbanded. When
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
took over the island, it placed the forestry office in the building. Between the world wars, the building was owned by the Rugusa (Dubrovnik) Bishopric. In 1960 it became a hotel, and in 1998 it was returned to the bishopric.
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 lake, thus turning both fresh-water lakes into seawater-based ones.
The second incident involves
mongooseMongooses are a family of about 30 species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Four additional species from Madagascar in the subfamily Galidiinae, which were previously classified in this family, are also frequently referred to as "mongooses"...
s. These were introduced onto the island in the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
in order to reduce the
snakeSnakes are elongate legless carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
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, especially eggs. To this day, the island is notably short of hedgerow
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
s such as
sparrowTrue sparrows, the Old World sparrows in the family Passeridae, are small passerine birds. As eight or more species nest in or near buildings, and the House Sparrow and Eurasian Tree Sparrow in particular inhabit cities in large numbers, sparrows may be the most familiar of all wild...
s.
Geography
Over 72% of the island of is forest. The island's geological structure consists of
limestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geologic record...
and
dolomiteDolomite is the name of a sedimentary carbonate rock and a mineral, both composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg
2 found in crystals....
forming ridges, crests and slopes. A few depressions on the island of Mljet are below sea level and are known as blatine ("mud-lakes") or slatine ("salt-lakes"). During the rain seasons all blatine are filled with water and turn to brackish during dry seasons.
The climate is Mediterranean; an average air temperature in January is 48 °F (9 °C) and in July about 75 °F (24 °C).
Settlements
According to the 2001 census, the settlements of Mljet have the following population.
- Babino Polje (336) - largest settlement, police station, school
- Goveđari (165)
- Babine Kuće
- Pristaniste
- Soline
- Pomena (37) - hotel odisej
- Polače (115) - ferry port, Roman ruins
- Blato (46)
- Ropa (32) - auto camp
- Kozarica (28)
- Sobra (102) - ferry port
- Prožura (53)
- Prožurska Luka (14)
- Maranovići (54)
- Okuklje (20)
- Korita (74)
- Saplunara (35) - beach
Transportation
The Island of Mljet has no airport.
Dubrovnik airportDubrovnik Airport , also referred to as Čilipi Airport, is the international airport of Dubrovnik, Croatia. The airport is located approximately 15.5 km from Dubrovnik city center, near the suburb of Čilipi...
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
JadrolinijaJadrolinija is a Croatian sea shipping company founded in Rijeka on 20 January 1947 as an extension of various smaller shipping companies which operated along the Croatian coast since 1872. Jadrolinija is a state-owned company and its main mission is connecting Croatian island to the mainland by...
ferry service. Sobra, the main port on the island, is connected to Dubrovnik-Gruž and
StonSton is a village and municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. The town of Ston is the center of the Ston municipality.- Population :...
via a car ferry. There is also a ferry between Polače and Trstenik (Pelješac peninsula). 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 road runs throughout the island. Scheduled buses on Mljet travels just once or twice a day.
External links