.png) Satellite view of Vis | |
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Adriatic Sea |
| Coordinates | 43°02′33″N16°09′09″E / 43.04250°N 16.15250°E /43.04250; 16.15250 |
| Area | 89.72 km2 (34.64 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 587 m (1926 ft) |
| Highest point | Hum |
| Administration | |
Croatia | |
| County | Split-Dalmatia |
| Largest settlement | Vis (pop. 1,920) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 3,313 (2021) |
| Pop. density | 36.92/km2 (95.62/sq mi) |
Vis (pronounced[ʋi:s]) is aCroatian island in theAdriatic Sea. Before the end ofWorld War I, the island was held by theLiburnians, theRepublic of Venice, the NapoleonicKingdom of Italy, and theAustrian Empire. During the 19th century, the sea to the north of Vis was the site of two naval battles. In 1920, the island was ceded to theKingdom of Yugoslavia as part of theTreaty of Rapallo. DuringWorld War II, the island was the headquarters of theYugoslav Partisan movement. After the war, Vis was used as a naval base for theYugoslav People's Army until 1989. The island's main industries are viticulture, fishing, fish processing, and tourism.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1857 | 6,304 | — |
| 1869 | 6,485 | +2.9% |
| 1880 | 7,871 | +21.4% |
| 1890 | 8,647 | +9.9% |
| 1900 | 9,914 | +14.7% |
| 1910 | 10,107 | +1.9% |
| 1921 | 9,788 | −3.2% |
| 1931 | 8,756 | −10.5% |
| 1948 | 7,485 | −14.5% |
| 1953 | 7,890 | +5.4% |
| 1961 | 7,004 | −11.2% |
| 1971 | 5,049 | −27.9% |
| 1981 | 4,134 | −18.1% |
| 1991 | 4,361 | +5.5% |
| 2001 | 3,637 | −16.6% |
| 2011 | 3,460 | −4.9% |
| 2021 | 3,313 | −4.2% |
| Source: Naselja i stanovništvo Republike Hrvatske 1857–2001, DZS, Zagreb, 2005 | ||
The farthest inhabited island off the Croatian mainland, Vis had a population of 3,313 in 2021. Vis has an area of 90.26 square kilometres (34.85 square miles). Its highest point isHum, which is 587 metres (1,926 feet)above sea level. The island's two largest settlements are thetown of Vis on the island's eastern side (the settlement for which the island was originally named) andKomiža on its western coast.
Vis, along withBrusnik,Sveti Andrija and the neighbouring islet of Kamnik,Biševo,Jabuka and thePalagruža archipelago, forms part of the Croatian Offshore IslandsImportant Bird Area (IBA). This was designated as such byBirdLife International because it supports significant breeding populations ofScopoli's andYelkouan shearwaters, as well as ofEleonora's falcons.[1]
Vis was inhabited by the time of theNeolithic period. In the 4th century BC, the Greek tyrant ofSyracuse,Dionysius the Elder, founded the colonyIssa (Ancient Greek:Ἴσσα) on the island.[2][3] A town on an island of the same name was settled byIllyrians, who were under the domination of Liburni from the 8th to the 6th centuries B.C. At the beginning of the 4th century B.C. the island was colonized by Syracusan Greeks as part of a plan of Dionysios the Elder to control the Adriatic.
During the 3rd century Issa founded the emporiaTragurion (Traù, now Trogir) and Epetion (Stobreč) on the Illyrian mainland. Its predominance in the region lasted until the firstIllyro-Roman war 229-219 B.C. when it became a pawn in the battles of greater powers. In the civil war it sided withPompey and consequently lost its privileges and autonomy in 47 B.C. when it was reduced to the rank of anoppidum civium Romanorum and was dependent on the newly founded colony atSalona. As a polis, Issa minted its own money, and these coins of many types had wide circulation. The town, situated on a slope on the W side of a large bay, was defended by strongHellenistic walls, still visible in an irregular quadrangle (265 x 360 m) that enclosed an area of 9.8 ha. The street grid and foundations of houses have been found.
The necropolis has yielded many pieces of pottery, including some from South Italy. The wall of the cavea of the theater, built in the Roman period, is incorporated into the present Franciscan Monastery. It could seat about 3000 persons. Inscriptions, statues, coins, and pottery are preserved in the archaeological museums at Split and Zagreb. Later, it became an independentpolis, and even minted its own money and founded its own colonies, the most notable of which wasAspálathos (the modern-day city ofSplit).
In the 1st century BC, the island was held by theLiburnians.[4]
Until 1797, the island was under the rule of theRepublic of Venice. During this time large settlements developed along the coastline (Comisa (now Komiža) and Lissa (now Vis)). Administratively, the island of Lissa was for centuries bound to the island of Lesina, now namedHvar. The Venetian influence is still recognizable in architecture found on the island.[citation needed] The dialect ofCroatian spoken on the island – calledCokavian – is recognized by theCroatian government asintangible cultural heritage and is notable for a large vocabulary ofVenetian origin.[5][6]
After the short-lived NapoleonicKingdom of Italy, with Italian as the official language, the island was ruled by theAustrian Empire from 1814. In official Austrian (Habsburg) administration, as with other places in Dalmatia up until 1909, it maintained its Italian name ofLissa,[7] In theAustrian census of 1910, out of 10,107 inhabitants (10,041 citizens), 9,939 responded that their language was Croatian (98.9%), with just 92 declared to beItalian-speakers (0.9%).[8] After the end ofWorld War I, it was under Italian occupation in the period from 1918 to 1921, before it was ceded toKingdom of Yugoslavia as part of the1920 Treaty of Rapallo.
The sea to the north of the island was the location of two battles:
Vis was at one point the site of the general headquarters of MarshalJosip Broz Tito, the leader of the YugoslavPartisan resistance movement. It was occupied by Italy between 1941 and 1943, then was liberated by the Partisans and reinforced by the British2nd Commando Brigade. At the end of World War II the island returned to Yugoslavia. During the war the island was mined. Allied fighter planes were based at a small airfield that was also used for emergency landings of Allied bombers, including an AmericanB-24 flown byGeorge McGovern.No. 6 Squadron RAF extensively used the airfield as a forward operating base, flyingHawker Hurricane Mk IV fighter aircraft, from May 1944 to February 1945.[9][10]
During World War II, a crate of theArmed Services Editions of paperback books was dropped by parachute along with other supplies on to Vis Island off the coast of Yugoslavia. The books were then read aloud to the partisans by English speaking soldiers who translated the books as they read them.[11]
Early in July 1944, the novelistEvelyn Waugh flew withRandolph Churchill fromBari, Italy, to Vis as part of theBritish military mission to Yugoslavia.[12] There they met Marshal Tito.[12] Waugh and Churchill returned to Bari before flying back to Yugoslavia to begin their mission, but their aeroplane crash-landed, both men were injured, and their mission was delayed for a month.[13][14][15]
During WWII the island was also home to1435 Squadron of the RAF flyingMark IX Spitfires in ground support of allied troops fighting in Italy.
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After the war, theYugoslav People's Army used the island as one of its mainnavalbases until abandoning the base in 1989.[16] After Croatia became independent in 1991,its navy did not reclaim most of the facilities, and the many abandoned buildings are being used for civilian purposes and tourism, including tunnels, bunkers and a secretsubmarine base.[16] In 2008, 34 mines left over from World War II were cleared from the island.[citation needed]
DuringYugoslavia Island of Vis primarily was used as military base and it was closed for public. After thewar of independence in 1991-1995, Croatia slowly gained economic development due toits tourism, and therefore popularity ofCroatian islands was in uprising. Vis is a home to numerous bay beaches including Stiniva, Srebrna, Stončica and Zaglava.[17] Vis is locally known as “island offishermans andwinemakers". Due to its geographical location and untouched nature, island is most suitable for wine and fish and in 2019, GEOPARK Vis archipelago became a member ofUNESCO Global Geoparks.[18][19]
In 2017, the sequel of musical comedyMamma Mia! – movieMamma Mia! Here We Go Again was filmed on location on Vis. The island represented fictional Greek island of Kalokairi, and the movie ganied additional popularity to the island.[20]
Vis andKomiža are seats of separate administrative municipalities which cover the entire island and nearby islets, which are both part ofSplit-Dalmatia County.
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The island's main industries are agriculture (mainlyviticulture), fishing,fish processing, and tourism.[21]
Around 20% of the island'sarable land is covered withvineyards. Autochthonous vine species cultivated on the island arePlavac Mali, Kurteloška, and Vugava.[22] Vugava is autochthonous variety of wine of island Vis.[23]
The sea around Vis is rich with fish, especially blue fish (sardine,mackerel andanchovy). Komiža fishermen of the 16th century developed their own type of fishing boat, thefalkuša, which was used until the second half of the 20th century because of its excellent features.[22]
Vis is accessed only by boat from Split.Jadrolinija services the island using mainly thero-ro ferryMTPetar Hektorović, with a scheduled voyage time of 2 hours and 20 minutes. There is also a high-speed passenger catamaran service Split–Milna–Hvar–Vis provided by Jadrolinija which takes 1 hour and 30 minutes. During the summer season (from 31 May – 29 September), the ferry and high-speed catamaran prices are higher.[24]
There used to be direct ship lines to Italy during summer season. In 2010 Termoli Jet startedTermoli-Vis-Split line, taking 3h30' to reach Vis from Italian city ofTermoli.[25] In 2015, Blue Line ran the now cancelled night ferry service Ancona-Vis.[26]
In 2016, now-defunctEuropean Coastal Airlines tried establishingseaplane passenger service Split-Vis, which took some 15 minutes.[27]
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