Island Krk

Punat

Punat is a small town situated on the east coast of Puntarska draga (Puntar Bay), on the south coast of the Island of Krk, only 8 km from the Town of Krk.

Signs of inhabitation have been observed since the prehistoric times, including Illyric, Greek and Roman eras. It is believed that the name Punat originates from the Latin word Pons, meaning bridge, because a bridge once possibly existed here, connecting the narrow passage into Puntarska draga from the south. The name itself was first mentioned in written documents in 1377.

The economic base once comprised agriculture, olive growing, fishing, sheep breeding and shipbuilding, especially with wood; presently, the prevailing activity is tourism, especially nautical tourism, in addition to trade. The former activities that survived are fishing and sheep breeding, and almost each family is engaged in olive growing.

In front of the town, in the central part of the shallow bay, lies the woody islet of Košljun. Punat – once a renowned shipyard for wooden boats and headquarters to a powerful steamship company – is now a popular tourist destination, thanks to the appreciation of the excursion/tourist values of the islet of Košljun and one of the largest and best-equipped tourist marinas on the east coast of the Adriatic.

Thanks to the marina’s year-round operation and events such as the Croatia Cup regatta and Olive Days, Punat receives foreign visitors even after the end of the season. Improved beaches and parks, rich vegetation, hotels, guesthouses, holiday houses, the Punat Marina – home port to all those enjoying the beauties of the Croatian sea and islands - sports and recreation options (sailing, diving, skiing, windsurfing, tennis, aqua park, miniature golf, hiking, boccie), homemade food offered in numerous taverns and restaurants, and the cultural offer (especially on the islet of Košljun) make Punat a highly visited tourist center.

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Franciscan Monastery Košljun

Only 750 meters from Punat lies the islet of Košljun. It is known for the Franciscan monastery where the monks have collected and preserved numerous valuable items for centuries. The islet has a museum with an ethnographic collection containing numerous items produced by Krk fishermen and farmers, as well as folk costumes from across the Island of Krk.

The monastery also owns a rich zoological collection consisting of a large seashell collection and unique animal specimens, such as the one-eyed lamb. The monastery also has a rich library with around 30,000 titles. It includes the Ptolemy’s atlas printed in Venice in 1511 (one of the three preserved copies). The monastery is a zero category monument. There are two churches on the islet – the Church of Blessed Virgin Mary’s Annunciation and the Church of St. Bernard.

It takes around two hours to see the whole islet, but there are no catering facilities there.

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Island of Krk - Geography

The Island of Krk is in the Bay of Kvarner or Quarnero. It is the biggest island in the Adriatic, with an area of 409.9 square kilometres. The highest peak is Obzova, at 569 m. There are some twenty little islands, islets, rocks and reefs around the main island: Prvić, Galun, Zec, Plavnik, Kormati, Košljun and Sv. Marko (St Mark’s). The population of the island, at the last count, was 16,402, distributed among 68 settlements.

The relief is of the karst or limestone variety, with caves and caverns (Biserujka near Dobrinj), with sinkholes and dolines. The central part of the island is occupied by fertile fields called, Omišalj, Dobrinj, Vrbnik and Baška poljes.

The coast is highly indented, with a great many bays, coves and naturally pebbly beaches. The biggest of the bays are Soline (with its medicinal mud) and Puntarska Draga.

Climate: The island boasts a pleasant and mild Mediterranean climate. The average summer air temperature is 22.8°C, and the sea water temperature is 23 - 25°C.The main winds come from the north-east, the south and the west - the bora, sirocco and maestral. In terms of insolation, Krk is one of the most favoured parts of Europe, with over 2,500 hours of sun a year.

Water features: There are two lakes on the island, called Jezero and Ponikva, and three rivers: the Veli or Dobrinja Brook, the Vretenica and the Vela Rika.

Plant life: In the central and western part of the island there are predominantly woods, along with cultivated Mediterranean fruit and vegetables, vineyards and olive groves. Northern and southern Krk are given over to stony areas and rough pasture land.

Forest reserves: There are Quercus ilex, or holm or evergreen oak, at Glavotok and on the little island of Košljun.

Bird sanctuaries: The island of Prvić and the north east steep slopes of the coast, where the griffon vulture resides (Gyps fulvus Habl).

A particular feature of the Krk landscape consists of the thick drystone walls or gromače, and the shepherds’ stone-built folds on the plateau area above the Baška valley.

Care about the preservation and conservation of the environment is ongoing and systematic. Proof of this is given by the two blue pennants in the Punat Marina, the Big Beach at Baška, auto camp Ježavac, Lukobran beach, FKK Politin and Koralj beach.

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Island of Krk - Visit

OMIŠALJ
Omišalj stands on Vela stena, a cliff 85 metres above sea level, dominating the almost three kilometre long Omišalj Bay. It is the first settlement on the island after Krk Bridge (2 km back), and Rijeka Airport is also in the vicinity.

NJIVICE
A settlement on the north west part of the island (10 km south of Krk Bridge), located in the sheltered bay called Beli Kamik. Once a small fishing village, it is today one of the most attractive holiday making centres on the island.

MALINSKA
In a wide bay on the north west coast of the island, 15 km south of Krk Bridge. It is the centre of the Dubašnice area, which was named after the luxuriant oak forests (dub being a Slavonic root for oak).

PORAT - VANTAČIĆI
Porat-Vantačići (3 km from Malinska) has a Third Order Franciscan monastery and the St Mary Magdalene Church from 1500.

VRBNIK
This spot lies in the south east of the island and is 37 km from Krk Bridge. It stands on a 48 metre high cliff over the sea. It is a wine-growing area and famed for the local wine called Vrbnička žlahtina.

RISIKA
A smallish settlement 6 km north west of Vrbnik, with a sandy beach in Sv. Marko Bay.

KRK
A city and port on the western side of the island, 25 kilometres from Krk Bridge. A one-time Roman municipality and centre of the Frankopans, the dukes of Krk. This is the administrative, political, economic and religious centre of the island.

GLAVOTOK
A cape just opposite the island of Cres, 17 km north west of Krk. A forest of holm oak (1 hectare) is a forest vegetation reserve. By the Church of the Immaculate Conception (1277), a Third Order Franciscan monastery was built in the 15th century.

PINEZIĆI
A village 12 km north west of Krk town. Once a fishing village, today it has developed into a holidaymaking spot.

KORNIĆ
A smallish settlement 7 kilometres away from Krk, with an interesting rural architecture including the Parish Church of St James (Jakov) of the 19th century.

STARA BAŠKA
A fishing village 10 kilometres south of Punat. Alongside its pebbly beach, its greatest value lies in the unspoiled nature, with its terraced gromače and stone-built sheep folds, its stone desert and cliffs, the habitat for medicinal and aromatic herbs.

BAŠKA
Baška is at the extreme south east end of the island, 43 from Krk Bridge. A settlement of an interesting maritime architecture, it stretches along the almost 2 kilometre long strand, reckoned one of the world’s finest beaches.

DRAGA BAŠĆANSKA
In the immediate vicinity of Baška (4 kilometers). The 45th parallel goes through the settlement.

BATOMALJ
This lies in the Baška valley. A church on an eminence is a well-known Marian shrine, Our Lady of Gorica.

JURANDVOR
This is located in fertile Baška polje (2 km north of Baška). It is famed in Croatian cultural history for the ancient stone-tablet with its Glagolitic inscription (ca 1100) that was found in the Early Romanesque St Lucy’s Church.

DOBRINJ
Dobrinj lies at the north eastern end of the island, some 21 kilometres from Krk Bridge, and is the only centre in the island that is not located alongside the sea. It is first mentioned in a Glagolitic script written deed of gift by the famous Dragoslav, dated 1 January 1100.

ŠILO
Located in the north east of the island, looking onto the Crikvenica Riviera on the mainland, 6 kilometres south east from Dobrinj (26 kilometres from Krk Bridge). As well as its traditional fishing and seafaring, Šilo is also developing into a pleasant holiday spot.

SOLINE, KLIMNO and ČIŽIĆI
Smaller settlements in the immediate vicinity of Dobrinj, located along the spacious Soline Bay, known for its pre-Roman salt pans and its medicinal mud for the treatment of bone ache. There are an anchorage for small boats and a shipyard in Klimno.

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