Croatia

The Renaissance coast

by Bernard KENNEDY

All Mediterranean countries offer their own blends of sun, sea and sand, activities and ancient civilisations. But small-is-beautiful Croatia, now drawing the crowds again as the war years retreat into history, can claim a few extra attractions.

European holiday-makers have been discovering Croatia in droves this century – and finding it to be more than just the latest summer venue. In terms of its curious map, its varied geography, its extensive coastline and its 1,200 islands (only 66 inhabited), Croatia can only be compared to Greece. Yet its cultural heritage places it closer to Italy. In fact, everybody – Turks included - can find something familiar here.

Central European castles, palaces, cathedrals and spas await tourists prepared to take their time and drive or cycle from town to town and village to village in continental Croatia and in the environs of nineteenth century Zagreb. For those who prefer to ride, climb, raft or balloon, the mountains offer fresh air and dramatic river valleys. But the astonishing Dalmatian coastline remains by far the best-known and most valuable attraction.

Urban heritage

Croatians have long been accustomed to tourists and to making them feel at home. The present boom is a post-war renaissance, assisted by some practical improvements. Chief among these is the completion of the Zagreb-Split motorway, halving the journey-time to three hours. By 2008, the road will go all the way to the living open-air museum of Dubrovnik.

And where better to start our tour? The harmonious walled city jutting out into the Adriatic bears ample testimony to the long history of a medieval city state which survived with and against Venice right through to the age of Napoleon. Today, its ducal palace, monasteries, bell towers and museums can all be visited on foot. Simply follow the Stradon, the central artery and meeting point. By day the age-old stonework offer respite from the sun; by night a mild breeze accompanies the region’s unique wines and songs. The summer festival is not to be missed.

A short detour from Dubrovnik takes you to the reconstructed Mostar Bridge and the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Northwest along the coast are three more of Croatia’s five UNESCO-certificated world cultural heritage sites: the city of Split, the early renaissance island-city of Trogir with its thirteenth century cathedral and other monuments, and the much-photographed cathedral to St James at Sibenek. Split is famously built around the palace which the Roman Emperor Diocletian built for his retirement around 300 AD. The unusual palace has been built over and over in a continuity of architectural styles from classical, Gothic and Renaissance to baroque. The emperor’s octagonal mausoleum has been combined with a romanesque bell-tower to create one of Europe’s strangest cathedrals.

Island pleasures

Meanwhile the major holiday islands are already shooting past: forested Korcula, billed as the birthplace of Marco Polo, and Brac, where on the sandy promontory of Bol, the wind and waves forever shape and reshape the beach. Opposite Brac lies Makarska, its mountains towering over the coastline – one of numerous conservation areas (Check out the “seashell museum”). Each town and island has its speciality: the sea village of Kastel Gomilica near Split, the Blue Cave on the island of Bisevo, cliffs, carnivals, trout streams, dolphins…

The Kornati zone, a natural park of 140 rocky islands, and the entire central Dalmatian coast are ideal for boat trips or for learning how to sail – and how to recognise the dry bora, the bracing biokovo, the playful maestral and the troubled scirocco winds. Still to come are the island of Krk, the resort nearest to Zagreb, noted for its famous beaches and eleventh century church, and finally the Istrian Peninsula.

Istrian taste

This last region is famous for the Roman amphitheatre of Pula, said to be the third largest in the world, and the summer palace of President Tito on Brijuni, now a natural park. In a country of few five-star hotels, Istria also offers some of the most luxurious resorts, with facilities for golf, riding and even polo (which could be described as a mixture of the two).

Tiny Istria is studded with ancient, medieval and renaissance towns – more than a dozen of them, stone crowns adorning green hilltops. The distribution of the towns is far from random. They are arranged so that their inhabitants could quickly report news of approaching ships and pass it on from East to West. The sixth-century Byzantine basilica of St Euphrasius in Porec on the west coast is the last of the UNESCO sites mentioned.

The way we were?

Almost 10m tourists are expected to visit Croatia this year ranging from day-trippers from neighbouring Slovenia to luxury cruise line passengers from half way around the globe. This figure is more than twice the size of a dwindling population. Many drive their own cars from Germany, the Czech Republic and elsewhere in central Europe to what is their nearest corner of the Mediterranean. But the northern European package holiday industry has also discovered Croatia in a big way.

Learning from the experience of some of its larger rivals, Croatia has imposed a strict ban on coastal construction. The apposite slogan of the Croatian National Tourist Board is “the Mediterranean as it used to be”. The challenge for Croatia will be keeping things that way under the pressure of sheer numbers, economic realities and private short-term interests.

(DIPLOMAT  -  July 2005  -  Ankara)