History of Hvar Island

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History of Hvar Island Croatia

Hvar Island is distinguished by both its natural beauty and culture. Early inhabitants because of its pleasant climate and land well suited for cultivation, as well as the defense and construction possibilities it offered chose Hvar.

Hvar Island is located in the Adriatic Sea off of the Dalmatian Coast, Croatia, and is considered part of the Split-Dalmatia county of Croatia. The three major divisions of the island are as follows. The Town of Hvar, the site of the oldest municipal theatre in Europe that opened in 1612. The Town of Stari Grade located on the northern part of the island and the small Town of Sucuraj situated on the east cape of the island. Hvar Island covers 112 square miles with fruit growing, cattle raising, and fishing being the main occupations. As of 1991 the estimated population of the island was around 11,400 people and along the southern coast of the island there are several smaller islands. The first inhabitants of Hvar Island were Neolithic people who probably established trade links Hvar and the eastern shores of the Mediterranean.

Beginning in the 4th Century B.C., the Greeks colonized the island. In the early middle ages, 7th and 8th centuries, Slavic tribes occupied the island, in the 9th century the island fell under Byzantine rule and in the 11th century the Croatian Kings.

The 12th century brought the Republic of Venice, which bought vines and wine cultivation which blossomed into a major industry for the island in the middle ages. The island eventually again fell under Byzantine rule, and then once again, the Croatian Kings. The Venetians returned and stayed from around 1420 to 1797, but their rule was very unstable. In the 15th century an uprising occurred between the locals and the Venetian aristocracy, the most serious of the uprising occurred between 1510 and 1514 with the Venetians ruthlessly crushing the locals and sending twenty of their leaders to the hangman. The island became prosperous from boat building, fishing the cultivation of rosemary, lavender and olives.

In 1797 Venice fell and Hvar came under Austrian rule until the arrival of the French in 1806. The Austrians again regained control of the island in the second half of the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th century bringing a period of relative prosperity. The Italian army occupied the island from 1918 until 1921, when Hvar with the whole of Croatia joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, succeeded by the Republic of Yugoslavia after the Second World War.

In 1992 Croatia was recognized as an Independent state in which Hvar obtained a position in its territorial reorganization.

[edit] References

• http://www.hvar-travel.com

A History of the Croats by Ivo Peric