Archaeological findings indicate that the island was inhabited continuously since theNeolithic period, although very little information about the earliest people is known. In later periods, Greek and Latin sources refer to {Κύριστα (Ancient Greek) orCuricta (Latin) as one of the Apsyrtidian or Electridian islands held by the people known asLiburnians. The Liburnians called the island "Curicum", which is the name assumed to have been given to the island by its original inhabitants.[3]
Krk came under Roman rule once they defeated the Liburnians. Thetown of Krk (Curicum) became a town withItalic law whose status evolved to give it the rights of amunicipality. Nothing is known about the internal organizations of the town of Krk during this time. Near the present-day Franciscan monastery, the remains ofthermal baths have been found. The defensive walls of Roman Curicum were among the most secure of all the towns on the Eastern Adriatic fortified by the Romans. Work began on their construction during theCivil War in Rome (50 BCE) and they were further strengthened in the 160s CE, to enable them to withstand attacks by theQuadi andMarcomanni who were at that time threatening the Adriatic. Not far from Krk in 49 BCE there was adecisive sea battle betweenCaesar and Pompey, which was described impressively by the Roman writerLucan (39–65 CE) in his workPharsalia.[5] When the Empire was divided, Krk came under theEastern Roman Empire.
Municipium Flavium Fulfinum is an old Roman settlement near the town ofOmišalj. Archaeological findings show the first traces of settlement in the area dating back into the 1st century when theRomans settled the area following theIllyrian Wars as a retirement community for soldiers. The Romans constructed the city for the retired Roman soldiers during theFlavian dynasty.[6][7] The settlement was abandoned in theLate antiquity.[8]
Roman ruins can be seen today in some parts of the town of Krk, for example mosaics in some houses. A temple to theRoman goddess Venus was discovered near the small gate (mala vrata) in the old city. This is the only temple dedicated to the goddess Venus to be found on the eastern side of the Adriatic and it dates back to 1st century BC. It's unique in that approval from the emperor’s family itself was needed before building could commence for such a statue to be built.[9] The temple is located within a shop just inside of the small gate.[10]
The walls of the town of Krk could not withstand attacks by theAvars (7th century), but in contrast toSalona,Scardona andAeona, life in Krk quickly returned to normal, and Krk functioned as one of theDalmatian city-states. The Croats penetrated into the town on several occasions. They retained many of the Roman names they found there and so it is said that Krk has a "mosaic dialect". Following theTreaty of Aachen (812) the entire island was ceded to theByzantine Empire and was governed according to the norms of that Empire. During the reign of EmperorConstantine Porphyrogenitus (10th century), Krk was known asVekla, of which the Romanized variant, also used by the Venetians, wasVeglia.[5]
There are no extant documents showing when Krk became part of the Croatian state. It is known that from around 875 the Byzantine town paid the Croatian rulers 110 gold pieces a year to be able peacefully to keep their hold there. While the Croatian state was being established, Krk found itself on the Venetians' route to the Mediterranean. The Venetians conquered the town for the first time in 1001, and from then Krk's history was closely linked with the history of theRepublic of Venice for seven centuries. During the reign ofPeter Krešimir IV the Croatian rulers regained their power, but the Venetians took Krk for the second time in 1118.[5]
Reign of the Krk Counts (from 1430 on – the Frankopan family)
When the Venetians conquered Krk for the second time in 1118, the local noble family, the unknown Dujams,[11] received Krk as part of a pact withVenice, and they became Counts. When Dujam died in 1163, Venice allowed his sons to make their position hereditary, after a payment of 350Byzantine gold pieces as tax. In a short time the Krk Counts became so powerful, that at one time from 1244 to 1260, Venice rescinded their authority. This failed to impede their rise, however. They increased economic exploitation, but they also endeavoured to strengthen old traditions and rights with various statutes (theVinodol Code 1288 and theVrbnik Statute, 1388). Dujam's youngest son, who died in 1209, succeeded in extending his authority to the mainland, began to serve the Croatian-Hungarian King and received the district ofModruš. Due to his economic strength and social standing, his opponents fought each other for his favour. The Counts became so strong that no power could threaten them (until theTurks). Members of his family were leaders inSplit,Trogir andSenj, and from 1392 one of them (Ivan V), became a Croatian-DalmatianBan. In 1430 they took the surnameFrankopan (Frangipane), claiming to have Roman origins. That year they adopted a coat of arms showing two lions breaking a piece of bread (Latin: frangere panem, break bread). From 1449, the descendants ofNikola IV founded eight branches of his family, and together with theZrinski Counts were the ruling feudal family in the whole of Croatia right up to 1671.[5] The Frankopans produced seven Croatian Bans, and many of them were patrons of Croatian artists.
Ivan VII Frankopan in particular was the only prince of the semi-independentPrincipality of Krk.[citation needed] He also promoted the settlement ofMorlachs andVlachs (originallyRomanians who later split intoIstro-Romanians) in the island (specifically in the areas ofDubašnica andPoljica and between the castles ofDobrinj andOmišalj) to have a bigger manpower. Thus, these Istro-Romanians would form a community in Krk that would influence the local Croatian dialect and leave several toponyms on the island. The Istro-Romanians of Krk disappeared in 1875 after the death of the last speaker of the localIstro-Romanian dialect, which some Croatian scholars named "Krko-Romanian". Nowadays, this ethnic group only inhabitsIstria.[12]
The island of Krk was a final Adriatic island to become part of theVenetian Empire. Due to its location, proximity to theUskoks of Senj, it served as a lookout point, as well as first line of defence against the Uskoks. From that time on, the ruler was a Venetian noble, but the Small and the Large Councils both held a certain autonomy. The city laws were written in Latin and, after 1500, in Italian. Italian was also used for the church registers for births, marriages and deaths; other public documents were written in aGlagolitic script, which was widespread here more than anywhere else. At the beginning of 16th century the inhabitants of inland Croatia began to settle on Krk, as a result of their flight from the Ottoman invasions. Nonetheless, Krk still saw a decline, just like all the other Venetian lands. In year 1527 the town was recorded to have 10,461 inhabitants, while in 1527[clarification needed] it had 8,000.[5]
Austrian rule over the island came after the fall of Venice in 1797 and was briefly (1806–1813) interrupted by the existence of Napoleon'sIllyrian Provinces. In 1822 the Austrians separated the island from Dalmatia and linked it toIstria, therefore bringing the islands of Krk,Cres andLošinj under direct rule from Vienna. This switch contributed to the appearance of Croatian National Revival, so along with nearby coastal townKastav, the town of Krk played a major role in spreading of Croatian education and culture in the area.[5]
The Italian Occupation (1918–1920) was brief, and Krk was handed over to Croatia, then in Yugoslavia, by theTreaty of Rapallo, Italy took Krk again in the Second World War (1941–1943), and German occupation followed from 1943 to 1945. The post-war development of Krk was led by tourism. The building of an airport and then abridge over to the mainland ensures the future of the development of tourism on this island. InOmišalj there has also been industrial development.
The bridge is at the north end of Krk island and uses the small island of Otočić Sveti Marko (St. Mark's Islet) as a mid-support. The bridge was completed and opened in July 1980 and originally namedTito's Bridge (Croatian:Titov most) in honor ofYugoslav presidentJosip Broz Tito, whohad died two months earlier.[13] The bridge has since been renamed Krk Bridge orKrčki most.
The island has a long history of shipbuilding, dating to theLiburnians. Nearby close to the harbor ofMala Luka, remains of a Liburnian-era shipyard have been found.[14][15]
The name of the municipality ofDubašnica is derived from "Dub", an old Slavic word for oak.[16] Oak forests made the island attractive for ship builders, dating toLiburnian times.[17]
Malinska harbor was used as a port due to its protection frombura wind as well as its depth.[18]
The harbor ofVrbnik was used for shipbuilding in the 13th century.[19]
BeachHaludovo inMalinska. The view includes the islandCres and mountainUčka in the distance across the BayKvarner.
Krk is located rather near the mainland and has been connected to it via a 1,430 m (4,692 ft) two-arch concretebridge since 1980, one of the longest concrete bridges in the world. Prior to construction of the bridge, a ferry carried passengers and vehicles from Črišnjevo on the mainland to a port located in the cove of Voz on Krk.[20][21]
Since January 2021,there is an activeKrk LNG terminal storage and regasification ship moored inOmišalj, north of Krk, able to receive largeLNG carrier ships and then to pump the gas into trans-European pipelines.
Krk is a popular tourist destination, due to its proximity toSlovenia, southern Germany, Austria, and northernItaly. Since the collapse of theEastern Bloc, many tourists have appeared from Slovakia,Hungary, Romania, and other former Eastern Bloc countries.
Eurasian griffon vulture (Croatian:Bjeloglavi sup) (Gyps fulvus), protected species of Croatia, living on the Island of Krk.
Krk is like many Croatian islands, it is rocky and hilly. The rock is mostlykarst. The southeast portion of the island is mostly bare as a result of thebora winds.
The island forms part of the Kvarner IslandsImportant Bird Area (IBA), designated as such byBirdLife International because it supports significant numbers of many bird species, including breeding populations of severalbirds of prey.[26]
AEurasian griffon vulture colony lives in protected in an area called Kuntrep on Krk.[4][27] There they breed at low elevations, with some nests at 10 m (33 ft). Therefore, contact with people is common.
Krk belonged to theRepublic of Venice during much of the Middle Ages until itsdissolution, when its destinies followed those ofDalmatia. It became part of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later called Yugoslavia) after World War I, in 1920.[29] After that date, the village of Veglia/Krk remained the only predominantly Italian-speaking municipality in Yugoslavia. After World War II, most of the Italians left.
The island of Krk is a participant in the 2020European Capital of Culture project. Through the program "27 neighborhoods", thecity of Krk,Malinska andVrbnik will be involved in different events during the entire year.[30] Along with them, the Municipality ofBaška participated in the program "Lungomare Art",[31] based on which a permanent art installation "Drops" was set up, which puts emphasis on traditional drywall architecture.
Krk is well known for its historical language diversity. TheMiddle Chakavian dialect of Croatian is the primary dialect used on the island. Five languages used to be spoken on the island:Venetian, Italian, Croatian,Dalmatian andIstro-Romanian, although the latter two have gone extinct in the island (and everywhere else in the case of Dalmatian).[32][33][12] The Croatian dialect of Krk has Istro-Romanian influence.[12]
The45th parallel north passes through the island of Krk, making it positioned halfway between theEquator and theNorth Pole. The crossing of the 45th parallel is marked with a signpost.
The frequency ofHaplogroup I, rare elsewhere in Croatia and most of Europe, is high among the population.[34] This characteristic is also found withinRusyns who are from southern Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine.[35][36][Footnote 1][Footnote 2]
^Nikitin 2009: 6/53 in Lemkos "Lemkos shared the highest frequency of haplogroup I ever reported and the highest frequency ofhaplogroup M* in the region."
Slukan Altić, Mirela (April 2016).Povijesna topografija otoka Krka: Slike vremena u zrcalu starih karata [Historical Topography of the Island of Krk: Pictures of the Times in the Mirror of Old Maps] (in Croatian).ISBN978-953-347-073-3. Tirage: 500.
Šegina, Ela (November 21, 2021).Spatial Analysis in Karst Geomorphology: An Example from Krk Island, Croatia (Thesis). Springer Theses.eISSN2190-5061.ISBN978-3-030-61449-2.
