Towns on the island of Hvar

The town of Hvar is the centre of the island´s tourism and one of the most favorite destinations in Croatia. It is situated on the south-western coast of the island, protected by Pakleni Islands. Hvar is a town of unique cultural and historal heritage. Visitors may explore the sights on the winding stone streets, swin at the numerous beaches or come to party.

In Hvar town is the largest square in Dalmatia along with the Cathedral of St Stephen. The square is named as the cathedral, though the local people call it ‘Pjaca’. Besides the St. Stephen´s cathedral there is a bishop´s palace and a museum.

The Dominican Monastery and church of St. Mark is located in the heart of Hvar. If you stroll down the streets of the old part of the city, you are bound to come upon the church of Holy Spirit, one of the many old churches of Hvar. Above Hvar Town you can find the impressive fortress Spanjola and French fortress Napoljun. The theatre in Hvar is located in the Arsenal building and it was one of the first municipal theatres built in Europe founded in 1612.

Hvar is widely known for its nightlife. One of the most famous nightclubs are Carpe Diem, Club Veneranda, Beach Bar Hula Hula, Nautica Bar, Kiva Bar, Splash Beach Bar and Vertigo Club.

Stari Grad is located on the north side of the Hvar island and it´s the oldest settlement on the island. The town has very good ferries connections with Split. Around the squre you may find narrow cobbled streets and small stone houses with wooden shutter. This area is famous for untouched nature, plenty of sunshine, smell of lavender, olives and wine.

The earliest signs of civilisation date back to Neolitic times based on artifacts and painted pottery in the caves. Stari Grad was founded by Greeks from the island Paros in the Aegean Sea and defeating the native Illyrian and Delmati peoples. The most propable reason for founding a polis was extremely fertile land, great strategic and nautical centre. Then Romans took control of Hvar and whole island of Hvar went to decline.

Nearby the Gramotorov house you may still find remains of Greek wall – Cyclopean wall. This has been nicknamed because the 19th-century observers thought the huge stone blocks could only have been raised by giants. Another must see is the parisch church of St. Stephen´s a baroque church built in the 17th century. The interior is decorated with works by various Venetian artists. Another church we recommend to visit is church of St. John.

Jelsa offers diverse scenery-pine tree forests, vineyards, lavender fields, olive groves and crystal clear sea. The town was founded in the 14th century as a ship port for the nearby village of Pitve. Jelsa is named after the alder trees (jalša or Joha in Croatian). It’s a kind of birch species that grew in the swamp near the Jelsa harbor. In the second half of the 19th century the swamp was dried, and alder trees disappeared. It grew from a little fishing and agricultural place to the shipbuilding and maritime center. In the 19th century Jelsa was at the peak of its fame, which is evident from town’s architecture.

On the spur of mountain overhanging Jelsa in the south is built the fortress of Tor on an old fortess from 3rd century B.C. It used to be an ideal defensive site, leaned with a cliff. In the very centre of Jalsa, not so far from Pjaca square there is wonderful renaissance-baroque square of St. John with a small church. Today´s parish church, the church of the Assumption was bulit as an early gothic church and later was expanded and fortified. The church preserved valuable liturgical vestments and several crosses of artistic value and the painting of “Mother of God and the torture of Fabian and Sebastian” of the Flemish-Venetian painter Pietera de Costera.

Until the 15th century, the economy of today´s villages had been based on agriculture. Then the fishing industry became lucrative so the people decided to establish harbors essential for this industry. Vrboska was founded by people of Vrbanj but first people who recognized the importance of this town was Romans. Some people call Vrboska “Little Venice” because of the bridges that cross the canal running through the town.

The most important architectural landmarks of Vrboska are the Fortress Church of St. Mary of Mercy, the Church of St. Peter and the Church of St. Lawrence. Vrboska has also very nice fishing museum for those who wants to know more of the local heritage. But one of the most significant monuments of the island of Hvar is Church fort of St. Mary, the church has the shape of a fort with an observation post and from its top there is beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding places.  The church preserves valuable works of Stefan Celesti, Antonio Sciuri, Giuseppe Alabardi, Marko Rašica and Celestin Medović.