Mljet

A breeze brushing through pine boughs ... the flapping of a sail out in the channel, heard from high on a seaside ridge ... the bray of a donkey. Silence.

Mljet gets a growing share of tourists, but as one of the more remote and less developed islands, with a limited ferry service, it lacks the kind of mass tourism of much of the Dalmatian coast and some other more accessible islands. This isn’t the place to come for late night bars, concerts or discos. One might hope it never will be.

Be prepared to fall in love with nature all over again, for this island has a stunning quality waiting for you to discover. Croatia’s 8th largest island is approximately 3km wide and 37km long making attractive to explore for a short or lengthier stop. It has an area of roughly 100 square km with 131km of coastline and many little niches and coves to discover, so you’d be forgiven for wanting to stay. With five distinct forest tree varieties, abundant fauna and lush vegetation, it’s easy to see why Mljet is called the “Green Island.”  Mljet offers a panorama of coastline, cliffs, reefs and numerous islets as well as the rich topography of the hills that rise steeply above the sea and plummet back into deep valleys sheltering ancient stone villages. The submarine world includes quite an array of fish and several types of corals. With fantastic weather, sailing, recreational sports, swimming, scuba diving, hiking and bicycle paths are only a fraction of the pleasures that you can enjoy here. The western end of Mljet has been protected as a National Park since 1960.

The ancient Greeks who settled here left the first record of the place, calling it Melissa or Melitta, (meaning, bee; honey) because of the many bees that made their home there. Greek settlers became familiar with this island whilst colonising nearby Vis (Issa), Hvar (Pharos) and Korčula (Korkiru).

The Illyrians settled the entire island in the 2nd Century BC, leaving graves and traces of military fortifications and settlements in seven places, on hills near water sources. The best  preserved sites are located on Veliki Gradac hill above the Veliko Jezero, and the fort of Vodica near Babino Polje.

The Romans followed, their era lasting from the 2nd Century BC - 7th century AD. After Octavian wiped out the Illyrians in 35 BC, the Romans built their own settlements on the western side of the island. Evidence of their domain is most notable in Polače, where they built a palace. Other Roman ruins are located in Pomena, Žara and Pinjevci.
 
The Croatian-Slavic nobility settled along the entire Adriatic coast around the end of the 8th and the start of the 9th Century. During this period of weakened Byzantine influence in the region, Croatians descended from the Neretva Valley and some settled on Mljet. The Romans, however, remained on the western end of the island for about another 300 years, until they were defeated in a battle on the mountain Bijeđ, between Blato and Polače. Evidence of this battle, including mass graves and remnants of bones, spears, swords and arrows, was discovered in 1938.
 
In 1151, Prince Deša of Zahumlje donated the entire island of Mljet to the Benedictine Abbey of St Mary of Pulsano from Apulia. The arrival saw the construction of a church and grand monastery of the benedictines (1177-1198) on the islet in Veliko Jezero.
 
Ragusa (later called Dubrovnik), acquired the Pelješac Peninsula in 1333, leaving Mljet isolated for a time. This changed in 1410, however, when Ragusa, now independent of Venice, annexed Mljet. Ragusa held the island until the dissolution of the Republic under Napoleon in 1808.


Getting there and around

Two ferry types are available to/from Dubrovnik, a car ferry and a catamaran mostly provided by Jadrolinija ferries. Mljet is only 8km away from the peninsula of Pelješac, 18km from Korčula and 30km from Dubrovnik. There are a number of harbour ports in Mljet. Polače is its largest and main port of call in the north, however, you can also access the island from Sobra which is best used to reach Maranovići and Babino Polje. Other harbours include Pomena which has daily connections to Dubrovnik (watch out for reefs and shallow water), and Lokve or Gonoturska port where you can throw anchor just before the entry canal toward the Big Lake.

Where to stay

Mljet has just one hotel (Hotel Odisej, Pomena b.b., www.hotelodisej.hr ) but with two campgrounds and a plethora of private rooms and apartments, there is enough accommodation to triple the island’s population during the summer. For information about private accommodation, you can contact the island’s tourist offices at the Sobra ferry port and in Polače.

What to See
 
Mljet National Park (Nacionalni Park Mljet) Pristanište 2, Goveđari, tel. (+385-20) 74 40 41, 74 40 58, np-mljet@np-mljet.hr, turizam@np-mljet.hr, www.np-mljet.hr. Established in 1960, the park is Mljet’s top attraction. The park, encompasses 54 square kilometres at the western end of the island, with an astonishing interior and coastline beauty. Veliko Jezero and Malo Jezero (Big Lake and Small Lake), and the villages of Soline, Babine Kuće, Pomena, Polače and Goveđari all lie within the park boundaries. Of interest, this park represents the first institutionalised attempt to protect the native eco-system in the Adriatic.

The lakes, 145-hectare Veliko Jezero and 24-hectare Malo Jezero, are the park’s dominant features. Thirty-metre-long channels link the two lakes and provide an outlet from Veliko Jezero to the sea. The current in the channels, swift enough to power mills during the Middle Ages, switches direction every six hours. On foot or by pedal you can enjoy a 9-kilometer path circumnavigating the lakes, and other paths wind up and over the hills. It’s Ok to swim or paddle in the lake, but scuba diving and motor boats are not permitted.

The usual national park rules apply: Don’t pick the flowers, steal the artifacts, fish without a special permit, nor litter, and most of all, don’t start fires. Mjet is one of the most verdant of Croatia’s islands because it wasn’t heavily logged or used for farming or herding. Nevertheless, a 1917 fire took out many of the deciduous forests.
Tickets to the park cost 40-90kn and can be purchased at booths in Polače and Pomena (Open 08:00 – 20:00), and at the Hotel Odisej. Admission includes the ferry to St Mary Island in the middle of Veliko Jezero, where you will find the Benedictine monastery and a restaurant.

Benedictine Monastery on the islet of St Mary (Samostan Sv Marija) This tiny island, in a lake on the island of Mljet, is at the island’s cultural and spiritual heart. For a time, the monastery was the island’s governmental center.

Benedictines, members of a monastic order who live in autonomous communities dedicated to work, prayer and peace, came to Mljet from Monte Gargano, Italy in the 12th Century to establish a monastery and build a Romanesque church dedicated to St Mary, which they completed in 1198. In the process the Benedictines became the island’s feudal lords, but they are credited with developing literacy, culture and art. The Church of St Mary was repeatedly modified over the centuries, acquiring by the 13th Century decorative reliefs of saints and a typical Romanesque belltower. Renaissance features such as the Gundulić coat of arms over the church portal, defensive towers and walls, the two-storey structure of the monastery and Baroque side chapels were added during the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1809, during the rule of Napoleon, the monastery was abandoned and the Austrian Forestry Office for Mljet used the buildings for offices until 1941. In 1960 it was renovated into a lovely hotel but given back to the bishopric in 1997, just under 800 years from the church’s inauguration.

The church has been reconsecrated, but other than a restaurant in the monastery cellars, the buildings are unoccupied. The island is small but offers a pleasant walk past two chapels. You can close your eyes for a moment and imagine the monks carefully pruning, weeding, and feeding in the gardens, which are now fairly overgrown.

Polače The village is named for the ruin of a significant Roman palace and fortifications – one tower is 20m high - built between the 2nd and the 5th century. Second in size to the Palace of Diocletian in Split, you can’t miss it: The road to Pomena slips right between its high walls. Archaeologists have also discovered two 5th Century basilicas) west of the palace, baths, an arsenal and shipyards. The palace’s economy included salt production, olive oil, wine, honey, meat, cheese and fish. A paved route from the palace will take you up the hill. When you reach the road, bear right and continue straight to Mali Gradac, site of an Illyrian fort. A posted turnoff on the way will take you to Montokuc, the highest peak in the park, which grants breathtaking views over the lakes and the Adriatic. 

Pomena Located on the western coast of Mljet in the National Park, about 200 m from Malo Jezero. This village, built after World War II, has only about 50 inhabitants living among charming thick forests and working in agriculture, fishing and tourism. The bay of Pomena is perfect for small yachts, which can pull up to the pier while you enjoy the hotel’s amenities.

Goveđari Settlement began here in the late 18th Century when two families of land workers and fishermen from Babino Polje were given permission to settle by the Benedictines to work as cattle-breeders (goveda means cattle in Croatian). Located in the national park, 5km inland, this ethnologically interesting site is a great place to be surrounded by peace, serenity and lush vegetation.

Babine Kuće This picturesque little fishing village is located on the shores of the Veliko jezero just beneath Goveđari. It offers a splendid view of the islet of St Mary. There are a number of private rentals here, too.

Babino Polje The central and largest inhabited area with around 350 people, Babino Polje is the administrative centre of the island. Stretched along a ridge above a bypass road and a field (the name means “Grandma’s Field”), Babino Polje is surrounded with pine woods, groves of old, twisted olive trees and vineyards, and 514m Veliki Grad, the highest hill on the island. There are also a high per-capita number of churches: St Pancratius, St Andrew, St Michael, St George, St Blaise, St Salvation, St Paul, St Joseph and Our Lady of Mercy. The three oldest are the pre-Romanesque churches of St Andrew, St Michael and St Pancratius, which was built in the 11th Century. You can reach the church, and neighbouring St Blaise, by way of an unmarked turnoff below the town. When you turn in, the road immediately forks; take the sharp right, which bends again to head straight into the valley. On the left among the olive trees you’ll pass the single-storey Renaissance manor of the Ragusan governor of the island. Clustered around the village cemetery are St Pancratius, the 15th Century Gothic parish church of St Blaise, and the sotnica, a  Renaissance-era government building in whose courtyard the governor sometimes issued judgments.

Odysseus’s Cave (Odisejeva Špilja) Technically that would be Calypso’s cave; Odysseus, shipwrecked on his way home from the Trojan War, only stayed with the nymph seven years, and most of the time he was pining for his wife and his home. After walking along a path lined with rock walls and wildflowers, which takes you out above a deep grotto and the crashing waves, you may wonder why he was in such a hurry to leave. You can pick your way down into the cave; come back another day by boat to squeeze into it through a 30m tunnel. Local fishermen use the grotto as a harbour.

Prožura This medieval village was used by Ragusan nobles who – a bit like yourself – were looking for relaxing getaway. Perched on a hill over a Blato (an intermittent lake) and the sea, Prožura has a 17th Century watch tower and three beautiful churches: the Church of the Holy Trinity, the Church of St Martin and the Church of St Rocco. The Church of the Holy Trinity has characteristics similar to those of Dubrovnik’s Gothic chapels, plus a remarkable 15th Century Romanesque bronze crucifix. The church most likely was built in 1477 by the Benedictines from Lokrum, who were bequeathed the estate in Prožura. The crucifix includes figured representations of St Blaise (the patron saint of Dubrovnik), St Martin (the patron saint of the poor) and St Nicholas (the patron saint of sailors and fishermen). Benedictines lived and worked in a small monastery near the church. It’s partly ruined now; along with the tower, it has been adapted for reuse as a stable and storage.

The Church of St Martin and village graveyard is situated on a bluff overlooking the village on one side and the island road and Pelješac Channel on the other. A plaque on the 14th Century porch thanks Jolanda Vecchietta, a teacher who came to the island during the Italian occupation in World War II, taught in the local school and fell in love with the island. After the war she returned to Italy but later paid for the 1998 renovations to the church. St Martin's day is celebrated on November 11 with a mass in the church.
The newer Church of St Rocco is situated on another small hill above the village. Costumed celebrations of St Rocco (who was believed to have saved the village from the plague), take place on August 16 every year. Prožura was the birthplace of Pavao Gracić, a well known bishop of Ston from 1635 to 1652.

Maranovići The 18th Century Baroque house of the Peš family is in the middle of the town. The 19th Century parish church of St Anton rests on the foundations of an older church and features Gothic architectural elements.


In nearby Korita, the ruined 14th Century Church of St Mary of the Hill mixes Gothic and Renaissance elements, and demonstrates features typical of the island’s churches. A roughly square plan with a deep porch extending to the front, and a picturesque belfry “na preslicu” (“on a distaff,”  that is, the belfry has a split where the bell hangs, the way a distaff’s end is cleft to hold wool). Some of the manor houses have Renaissance-Baroque elements. The town has its own 17th Century defence tower with loopholes for firing. Korita is named for the stone troughs, common on the island, that are used to capture rainwater.