14s p o m e n i c im o n u m e n t sUntil the 16th century the flame that was usedto direct attention to the dangerous cliffs in ancienttime was fed with the wood, when it was substitutedfor coal. Two centuries later, coal was replaced withthe gas, than electricity, and finally nowadays withthe solar energy.prižnjakdođu morske vile i sirene da ih izliječe ili pak dokraja izlude...eng The ties between a man and the sea are unbreakable.Spun out of fine fibres representingtime and the past, working their way throughdestinies and legends, as if they were creating lacehemmed in with the foam and crowned with algae.It is hard to interlace the threads of history brokenlong time ago, still one shouldn’t doubt the continuityof human presence and development throughout, inour day, Croatian sea coast and islands.Namely, Adriatic is an authentic cradle of civilisationfor more than five thousand years, in other wordssince 4 000 B.C., when in Grapceva cave located onthe island Hvar a Neolithic man left behind the oldestpicture of a ship engraved into the stone along withceramics de corated with ornaments and paintings.Was this just a game to him or did he try to leave usa symbol of primeval connection of the Adriatic manwith the sea? The connection that is as strong todayas it was in his time.In the 4th century B.C. during the times of Helleniccolonisation today’s Hvar used to be called Pharos. Itwas given its name by the homonymous islet in frontof the entrance gate to the modern Alexandria, wherein the 3rd century B.C. Sosrat of Knid, a friend of Alexanderthe Great, built very first lighthouse in theworld. Slowly with the rise of the maritime traffic andutilisation of larger and faster ships the importanceand demand toward lighthouses gained its worldwideproportion. It was necessary to obtain increased levelsof navigation safety, especially at night under badweather conditions.old man at the cape savurdijaA foremost person deserving the most credit forbuilding lighthouses throughout the Adriatic is aconservative, and yet inventive Austrian Minister ofForeign Affairs, count Metternich.First lighthouse that was erected by the ImperialAustria was built in 1818 in the far northwestern portionof the Croatian seacoast - at the Cape Savurdija.During following eighty years additional 65 lighthouseswere build throughout Croatian islands and capes.In hard to reach solitude of the Adriatic, lighthouseshad to be supplied by many. Consequently thesebuildings were building very spacious, even with severalhundred square meters of interior surface area.Built out of the white stone and several metersthick, it seems as if the walls of these plebeian castlesdemonstrate the teeth of eternity. Infused into thelandscapes beyond imaginable beauty they can beequally placed side-by-side most eminent Croatiancultural monuments. For that reason, and more sodue to their permanent day-by-day deterioration, thelighthouses, out of which some were archaeologicalruins, need to be preserved. Consequently, six yearsago the object “Pharos - a New Light in Croatian Tourism”,rehabilitated for a long time, came to life.Nevertheless, twelve lighthouses can be found intourist brochures; those who enjoy spending holidaysin peace and solitude with the taste of theadventure a la Robinson Crusoe’s, can settle down incomfortable apartments of Sv. Andrija, Host, Greben,Palagruža, Porer, Strug, Sušac, Sv. Ivan, Sv. Petar, Velirat, Prišnjak and Pločica. Scattered around the Adriaticarchipelago, and yet quaintly connected to thesea through specific spectrum of colours, they aresleepy during the day and awake at night. Being onthe watch and restlessly twinkling with that single,Cyclopean, Polyphemean, eye they passionately welcomeaffectionate gusts of wind. Each one has a story,either sad or happy, which is best to listen to in thewinter, next to the fireplace, while the storms roar onthe outside.The abovementioned Cape Savurdija hides a greatlove secret of count Metternich. The reason why famousAustrian politician ordered construction of thevery first lighthouse precisely there was a mysteriousand charming Croatian lady whom he fell in love withat one of the balls in Vienna. Unfortunately, the ladydid not experience tender moments under fleshes ofa new lighthouse. She died on the completion day ofthe lighthouse’s tower....Much happier is the story of the Cape Zub’s lighthouse,where allegedly once upon a time a toothless
veli ratold woman, a wife of some fisherman from Novigrad,waited and waited at the sheer rock searching for herhusband’s boat. Finally when he arrived, she came ontothe boat, and what a surprise! Her husband was astonishedto see his wife with the teeth. Even today, as thismiracle was almost forgotten, there are old people inNovigrad who have a thing about coming to the capeZub and watching the sea from the sheer rock.prvić like venusIslet Sveti Ivan na Pučini, next to the massive lighthousestructure has a little church of its patron. Thestory goes that a young Venetian doge took a vow to St.John that, in case he reached Rovinj by the ship safely,in a token of his gratitude he would light a candle ashigh as a tower of the cathedral. Only when he arrivedto Rovinj, alive and well, did he realize how unfeasiblethe given promise really was. He started contemplatingabout smaller and smaller candle; finally he figuredthat even a tiny candle would be sufficient. However,as he was in a hurry to return home, he forgot to lighteven that tiny candle. To late to feel repentance, he rememberedhis broken promise only when the unprecedentedstorm rose in front of the Venetians in whichhe was lost at sea along with his galley.Supposedly some well off, but somewhat foolishinlander intended to, no matter what, travel to Venus.His unruly acquaintances decided to make his wishcome true. During the night they drove him to Njivice,a place on island Krk, from where, when he fell asleep,they took him to the island Prvić, and there they’vesoftly placed him upon the stone niche and left.When he woke up and caught sight of extraterrestriallimestone peaks around him he thought that finely hemanaged to reach Venus. Wandering about, at nightfallhe got sight of a strange lighthouse constructionof Stražica, which further convinced him that he wasat the right place. After he tried to establish a closeencounter with the “Venusians”, the Police and twonurses... welcomed him.Overhearing Minos’s bragging that there wasnothing as great as his labyrinth, Zeus lashed intofury and waived his hand toward a great Adriaticisland thus breaking it into 147 fragments, lettingthe sea to finish the work. This is the story of Kornatiand their origin, the largest and the densest groupof Mediterranean islands, where passing through itschannels leaves no one indifferent. It is common beliefof local fisherman and one of the greatest secretsof Kornati that the nymphs brought there a largesmoothed stone surface in order to be able to dancethere naked at night. Mortals who would reject theirlove they would turn into a coral flower used as anornament for their underwater temple. Today theentire archipelago is declared National <strong>Park</strong>, thusthe excessive erection of buildings and uncontrolledfishing were prevented. Consequently, and exceedinglybeautiful lighthouse at Tajerske sestrice wassentenced to loneliness.prižnjakOdmor na svjetionikuOdmorite se na jednom od 9 svjetionika iz ponude turističke agencijeadriatica.net. Ne propustite rezer virati svjetionike iz last minute ponude spopustom od 30-40%! Posjetite www.adriatica.net ili pišite nainfo@adriatica.netExperience lighthouse holidaysSpend your holidays in one of the light houses offered by Adriatica.net agency.Don’t miss booking a lighthouse through our last mi nute offers - save up to 30-40%!Visit www.adriatica.net or contact us via info@adriatica.net