Mljet
Encyclopedia
Mljet is the most southerly and easterly of the larger Adriatic island
s of the Dalmatia
region of Croatia
. The National Park includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea belt 500 m wide from the most prominent cape of Mljet covering an area of 54 km2. The central parts of the park are Veliko jezero with the Isle of St. Mary, Malo jezero and the villages of Govedari (179 inhabitants), Polače (123 inhabitants) and Pomena (50 inhabitants).
make up an absolute majority with 97.93% of the population.
in the 6th century BC; others prefer the text, Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax
. In both texts, it is named Melite and supported by Apollonius of Rhodes
.Sanader, Mirjana. Kroatien in der Antike, Von Zabern, 2007., ISBN 380533740X, p 58. Bryant, Jacob. (1715-1804) A New System, Or, An Analysis of Antient Mythology: Wherein an Attempt is Made to Divest Tradition of Fable and to Reduce the Truth to Its Original Purity, The Third Edition in Six Volumes, printed for J. Walker; W. J. and J. Richardson; by R. Faulder Press, 1807., Vol. V., pp 357-358. Agathemerus
and Pliny the Elder
call the island Melita. Agesilaus of Anaxarba in Cilicia
, the father of Oppian
, was banished to Mljet by the Roman
Emperor Septimus Severus (AD 145-211) (or to Malta
by Lucius Verus
: see Oppian
).
Mljet is mentioned around 950 by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos in his Of Ruling an Empire as one of the islands held by the Neretvians. The island was often a controversy of ownership between Pagania and Zachlumia
until the stronger unifications of the Serbian realm in the 12th century.
Mljet has been regarded as the "Melita" on which Saint Paul
was shipwrecked (Acts of the Apostles
27:39-28:11), this view being first expounded in the 10th century, by Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. Saint Paul's shipwreck is generally placed on the Mediterranean island of Malta
. Mljet and Malta had the same name in the Greek and Roman sources; the mention of a viper in Acts 28:3-5 was thought to be in favour of Mljet (but there are snakes on both Mljet and Malta
). A harbour named after the Saint exists on both islands.
The Benedictine
s from Pulsano in Apulia
became the feudal lords of the island in 1151, having come from Monte Gargano
in Italy
. They came ashore in the Sutmiholjska cove and Serbian Prince Desa of the House of Vojislavljević
built and donated to them the Church and Monastery
of Saint Mary on the islet in the Big Lake (1187–1198). Pope Innocent III
issued a document consecrating the church in 1198.
The island was under the rule of Stefan Nemanja
in 1166-1168. In 1222, the Serbian King Stefan II the First-crowned of Nemanja gifted his lands and monasteries and church on Krkar
to the Benedictine Order of Mljet. After serving as the last Serbian maritime bastion, Serbian Emperor
Stefan Uroš V gifted the island to Balša I in 1357.
The Benedictines renounced their rule over the island in 1345, keeping only a third of the land. The island got a statute and a municipality in Babino Polje
. It was formally annexed by the Republic of Ragusa
in 1410. According to the Contract with the Benedictines, the municipality had to pay 300 perpers each year.
In the 16th century, the monastery was the center of the Mljet Congregation (Congregatio Melitensis or Melitana), gathering all the monasteries of Benedictine monks in the area of the Republic of Ragusa. The first president of the Congregation was Mavro Vetranović
, the abbot of the Mljet monastery and the famous poet. Another great poet was abbot there - Ignjat Đurđević in the 18th century. As time went by, the Benedictine monastery on Mljet lost its importance, while the seat of the Mljet Congregation moved to Sveti Jakov near Ragusa
.
In 1809, during the rule of Napoleon, the Mljet monastery was disbanded. When Austria
took over the island, it placed the forestry office in the building. Between the world wars, the building was owned by the Ragusa (Dubrovnik) Bishopric. In 1960 it became a hotel, and in 1998 it was returned to the bishopric.
The island has a long history of eco-damage. In order to ease their transport problems, the monks dug a channel to the south coast, from the lake, thus turning both fresh-water lakes into seawater-based ones.
The second incident involves mongoose
s. These were introduced onto the island in the Middle Ages
in order to reduce the snake
population (the island was apparently completely overrun). Whilst the mongooses completed this task, they also disposed of pretty much all the birdlife of the island, especially eggs. To this day, the island is notably short of hedgerow bird
s such as sparrow
s.
Mljet lies south of the Pelješac
peninsula, from which it is divided by the Mljet Channel. Its length is 37 kilometres (23 mi); its average breadth 3.2 kilometres (2 mi). It is of volcanic origin, with numerous chasms and gorges, of which the longest, the Babino Polje, connects the north and south of the island. Port Polače, the principal harbour in the north, is a port of call for tourist ferries. Mljet contains one hotel - The Odisej (from the Greek Odysseus) in the north-west corner of the island.
The northwestern part of the island includes an inland sea as well as a small island within it. It has been a national park
since November 12, 1960.
Ancient Greeks called the island "Melita" or "honey
" which over the centuries evolved to become the Slavic
name, Mljet (mʎɛt).
Over 84% of the island of 98.01 square kilometres (37.8 sq mi) is forest. The island's geological structure consists of limestone
and dolomite
forming ridges, crests and slopes. A few depressions on the island of Mljet are below sea level and are known as blatine ("mud-lakes") or slatine ("salt-lakes"). During the rain seasons all blatine are filled with water and turn to brackish during dry seasons.
The climate is Mediterranean
; an average air temperature in January is 9 °C (48 °F) and in July about 24 °C (75 °F).
According to the 2001 census, the settlements of Mljet have the following population.
on the mainland provides the main international connection for the island. Mljet has ferry lines with Pelješac peninsula and Dubrovnik. Transportation to the island is provided by Jadrolinija
ferry service. Sobra, the main port on the island, is connected to Dubrovnik-Gruž and Ston
via a car ferry. There is also a ferry between Polače and Trstenik (Pelješac peninsula). There are two type of ferries available: a car ferry and a faster catamaran ferry (2.5 hours and 90 minutes to Dubrovnik, respectively).
The two-lane paved road runs throughout the island. Scheduled buses on Mljet travel just once or twice a day.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s of the Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
region of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The National Park includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea belt 500 m wide from the most prominent cape of Mljet covering an area of 54 km2. The central parts of the park are Veliko jezero with the Isle of St. Mary, Malo jezero and the villages of Govedari (179 inhabitants), Polače (123 inhabitants) and Pomena (50 inhabitants).
Population
According to the 2001 census, Mljet has population of 1,111. CroatsCroats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
make up an absolute majority with 97.93% of the population.
History
Mljet was discovered by ancient Greco-Roman geographers, who wrote the first records and descriptions. The island was first described by Scylax of CaryandaScylax of Caryanda
Scylax of Caryanda was a renowned Carian explorer and writer of the 6th and 5th centuries BCE.-Exploration and literary works:In about 515 BCE, Scylax was sent by King Darius I of Persia to follow the course of the Indus River and discover where it led. Scylax and his companions set out from city...
in the 6th century BC; others prefer the text, Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax
Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax
The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax is an ancient Greek periplus that ranks among the minor Greek geographers, dating from 4th or 3rd century BC. The name of Scylax applied to the text is thought to be a pseudepigraphical appeal to authority: Herodotus mentions a Scylax of Caryanda, a Greek navigator...
. In both texts, it is named Melite and supported by Apollonius of Rhodes
Apollonius of Rhodes
Apollonius Rhodius, also known as Apollonius of Rhodes , early 3rd century BCE – after 246 BCE, was a poet, and a librarian at the Library of Alexandria...
.Sanader, Mirjana. Kroatien in der Antike, Von Zabern, 2007., ISBN 380533740X, p 58. Bryant, Jacob. (1715-1804) A New System, Or, An Analysis of Antient Mythology: Wherein an Attempt is Made to Divest Tradition of Fable and to Reduce the Truth to Its Original Purity, The Third Edition in Six Volumes, printed for J. Walker; W. J. and J. Richardson; by R. Faulder Press, 1807., Vol. V., pp 357-358. Agathemerus
Agathemerus
Agathemerus was a Greek geographer who during the Roman Greece period published a small two-part geographical work titled A Sketch of Geography in Epitome , addressed to his pupil Philon. The son of Orthon, Agathemerus is speculated to have lived in the 3rd century...
and Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
call the island Melita. Agesilaus of Anaxarba in Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, the father of Oppian
Oppian
Oppian or Oppianus was the name of the authors of two didactic poems in Greek hexameters, formerly identified, but now generally regarded as two different persons: Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia; and Oppian of Apamea in Syria.-Oppian of Corycus:Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia, who flourished in the...
, was banished to Mljet by the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
Emperor Septimus Severus (AD 145-211) (or to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
by Lucius Verus
Lucius Verus
Lucius Verus , was Roman co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, from 161 until his death.-Early life and career:Lucius Verus was the first born son to Avidia Plautia and Lucius Aelius Verus Caesar, the first adopted son and heir of Roman Emperor Hadrian . He was born and raised in Rome...
: see Oppian
Oppian
Oppian or Oppianus was the name of the authors of two didactic poems in Greek hexameters, formerly identified, but now generally regarded as two different persons: Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia; and Oppian of Apamea in Syria.-Oppian of Corycus:Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia, who flourished in the...
).
Zachlumia
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
until the stronger unifications of the Serbian realm in the 12th century.
Mljet has been regarded as the "Melita" on which Saint Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
was shipwrecked (Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
27:39-28:11), this view being first expounded in the 10th century, by Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. Saint Paul's shipwreck is generally placed on the Mediterranean island of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Mljet and Malta had the same name in the Greek and Roman sources; the mention of a viper in Acts 28:3-5 was thought to be in favour of Mljet (but there are snakes on both Mljet and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
). A harbour named after the Saint exists on both islands.
The Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
s from Pulsano in Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
became the feudal lords of the island in 1151, having come from Monte Gargano
Monte Gargano
Gargano is a historical and geographical Italian sub-region situated in Apulia, consisting of a wide isolated mountain massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of the Gargano Promontory projecting into the Adriatic Sea. The high point is Monte Calvo at . Most of the upland...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. They came ashore in the Sutmiholjska cove and Serbian Prince Desa of the House of Vojislavljević
House of Vojislavljevic
The Vojislavljević was the second Serb medieval dynasty, named after archon Stefan Vojislav, who wrestled the region from Byzantine hands in the 1040s...
built and donated to them the Church and Monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Saint Mary on the islet in the Big Lake (1187–1198). Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
issued a document consecrating the church in 1198.
The island was under the rule of Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
in 1166-1168. In 1222, the Serbian King Stefan II the First-crowned of Nemanja gifted his lands and monasteries and church on Krkar
Korcula
Korčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk...
to the Benedictine Order of Mljet. After serving as the last Serbian maritime bastion, Serbian Emperor
Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...
Stefan Uroš V gifted the island to Balša I in 1357.
The Benedictines renounced their rule over the island in 1345, keeping only a third of the land. The island got a statute and a municipality in Babino Polje
Babino Polje
Babino Polje is a village in Croatia. With a population of 336 it is the largest settlement on the island of Mljet and it is connected by the D120 state road....
. It was formally annexed by the Republic of Ragusa
Republic of Ragusa
The Republic of Ragusa or Republic of Dubrovnik was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from 1358 to 1808...
in 1410. According to the Contract with the Benedictines, the municipality had to pay 300 perpers each year.
Mavro Vetranovic
Mavro Vetranović was a prolific Croatian writer and Benedictine friar from Dubrovnik.Born in Dubrovnik in 1482, he entered the Benedictine Order in 1507 on the island of Mljet, and after a period of education in Monte Cassino in Italy returned to Mljet as the abbot of the monastery...
, the abbot of the Mljet monastery and the famous poet. Another great poet was abbot there - Ignjat Đurđević in the 18th century. As time went by, the Benedictine monastery on Mljet lost its importance, while the seat of the Mljet Congregation moved to Sveti Jakov near Ragusa
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
.
In 1809, during the rule of Napoleon, the Mljet monastery was disbanded. When Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
took over the island, it placed the forestry office in the building. Between the world wars, the building was owned by the Ragusa (Dubrovnik) Bishopric. In 1960 it became a hotel, and in 1998 it was returned to the bishopric.
The island has a long history of eco-damage. In order to ease their transport problems, the monks dug a channel to the south coast, from the lake, thus turning both fresh-water lakes into seawater-based ones.
The second incident involves mongoose
Mongoose
Mongoose are a family of 33 living species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Four additional species from Madagascar in the subfamily Galidiinae, which were previously classified in this family, are also referred to as "mongooses" or "mongoose-like"...
s. These were introduced onto the island in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
in order to reduce the snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
population (the island was apparently completely overrun). Whilst the mongooses completed this task, they also disposed of pretty much all the birdlife of the island, especially eggs. To this day, the island is notably short of hedgerow bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s such as sparrow
Sparrow
The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...
s.
Geography
Pelješac
Pelješac is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia...
peninsula, from which it is divided by the Mljet Channel. Its length is 37 kilometres (23 mi); its average breadth 3.2 kilometres (2 mi). It is of volcanic origin, with numerous chasms and gorges, of which the longest, the Babino Polje, connects the north and south of the island. Port Polače, the principal harbour in the north, is a port of call for tourist ferries. Mljet contains one hotel - The Odisej (from the Greek Odysseus) in the north-west corner of the island.
The northwestern part of the island includes an inland sea as well as a small island within it. It has been a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
since November 12, 1960.
Ancient Greeks called the island "Melita" or "honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
" which over the centuries evolved to become the Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
name, Mljet (mʎɛt).
Over 84% of the island of 98.01 square kilometres (37.8 sq mi) is forest. The island's geological structure consists of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
forming ridges, crests and slopes. A few depressions on the island of Mljet are below sea level and are known as blatine ("mud-lakes") or slatine ("salt-lakes"). During the rain seasons all blatine are filled with water and turn to brackish during dry seasons.
The climate is Mediterranean
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
; an average air temperature in January is 9 °C (48 °F) and in July about 24 °C (75 °F).
Settlements
- Babino PoljeBabino PoljeBabino Polje is a village in Croatia. With a population of 336 it is the largest settlement on the island of Mljet and it is connected by the D120 state road....
(336) - largest settlement, police station, school - Goveđari (165)
- Babine Kuće
- Pristaniste
- Soline
- Pomena (37) - hotel odisej
- Polače (115) - ferry port, Roman ruins
- Blato (46)
- Ropa (32) - auto camp
- Kozarica (28)
- Sobra (102) - ferry port
- Prožura (53)
- Prožurska Luka (14)
- Maranovići (54)
- Okuklje (20)
- Korita (74)
- Saplunara (35) - beach
Transportation
The island of Mljet has no airport. Dubrovnik AirportDubrovnik Airport
-Traffic statistics:Dubrovnik Airport handled 1,270,062 passengers in 2010.In 1987 Dubrovnik Airport handled 1.5 million passengers and 2500 tons of cargo, making 1987 year the busiest thus far...
on the mainland provides the main international connection for the island. Mljet has ferry lines with Pelješac peninsula and Dubrovnik. Transportation to the island is provided by Jadrolinija
Jadrolinija
Jadrolinija is a Croatian sea shipping company. It is a state-owned company and its main mission is connecting Croatian islands to the mainland by operating regular passenger and cargo transport services...
ferry service. Sobra, the main port on the island, is connected to Dubrovnik-Gruž and Ston
Ston
Ston is a village and municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. The town of Ston is the center of the Ston municipality.- Demographics :...
via a car ferry. There is also a ferry between Polače and Trstenik (Pelješac peninsula). There are two type of ferries available: a car ferry and a faster catamaran ferry (2.5 hours and 90 minutes to Dubrovnik, respectively).
The two-lane paved road runs throughout the island. Scheduled buses on Mljet travel just once or twice a day.
External links
- Mljet National Park
- Mljet Tourist Information (Croatian)
- Island of Mljet - Home Page
- / Excursions and day trips from Korčula to Mljet
- Mljet presented by Dubrovnik Guide
- Mljet Information - Zvonko's Travels
- Small Travel Guide to Mljet
- More information about Mljet
- More information about Mljet National Park
- Sobra & Pomena