One more Croatian Island to go. After leaving Hvar, we moved on to Korčula, another unique Croatian town and Island. I felt like I had walked into the movie set for The Lord of the Rings. True towers, a drawbridge, battles from the ramparts, pirates, and more.
Compared to Hvar and several other places I visited, Korcula was quiet. There were tourists there, but not in the numbers I had seen in many of the other parts of Croatia.
Korčula has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced by Stone Age finds from Vela Spila near Vela Luka, now part of the Vela Luka Culture Center’s collection. In the 4th century BC, the Greeks founded a colony on Korčula and called it Korkyra Melaina or Black Korčula. Under their rule, the island was called Korkyra Nigra. The attribute “Melaina” or “Nigra” this beautiful island owes precisely to the lush Mediterranean vegetation, primarily forests of holm oak and pine.
The island of Korčula is almost completely connected to Pelješac by the Pelješac canal. The town of Korčula is among the most beautiful and best preserved medieval towns on the Croatian coast and in all of the Mediterranean, and is justly referred to as “Little Dubrovnik.” It still has the appearance it had at the turn of the 16th century – the same stone towers, walls, and the same fishbone structure of the streets.
Korčula’s town planners took into consideration both functionality and perfect harmony with nature – the streets are lined so that the refreshing wind from the west can pass, while the cold winter winds from the northeast (called bura) are blocked.
We started our exploration of Korcula with a walking tour of the “Old Town”. Old town, of course, means within the fortress walls. Our guide was very informative. The creation of this town was planned well.
The steps are a later creation. There used to be a drawbridge where the steps are today. If the enemy came, they drew up the bridge. If you enlarge the photo by clicking on it, you can see the holes in the tower where the ropes were for the drawbridge.
The streets of Korčula’s Old Town are designed in a brilliant geometric herringbone pattern. Built in the Middle Ages by the Venetians, this layout acts like natural air conditioning, controlling the wind and the sun to keep the town comfortable.
How the Herringbone Design Works
- Central Spine: A single main street divides the old town, running straight along the top of the island’s ridge.
- Western Streets: The streets on the town’s western side are laid out in straight lines. This lets the refreshing summer breeze, called the maestral, blow straight through the town and cool the houses.
- Eastern Streets: The streets on the eastern side are slightly curved. This curve blocks the fierce, cold winter winds, known as the bura, from rushing through the city and freezing the homes.
Other unique features of this town are included below.
Hidden Plumbing: The houses are built in long, parallel blocks. The fronts of the houses face the streets, while the backyards and wastewater canals were cleverly hidden in the middle of the blocks.
Narrow and Shaded: The side alleys are incredibly narrow. This provides deep shade during the hot summer months, ensuring the sun never hits the ground directly.
Stepped Alleys: Because the town sits on a small hill, almost all the side streets use steps to help you climb up and down easily.
Arches Across the Alleys: You owned a small home. If you wanted to expand and acquired the home across the street, an arch was built to connect the kitchens.
The Kitchens & Bathrooms: To prevent fires, the kitchens were on the top floor. The bathrooms were on the first floor.
The Street of Thoughts: There is one notable street running along the southeastern wall, without any steps. Local history says it was called the “Street of Thoughts” because walkers did not have to stare at their feet to watch for stairs.
Korcula Old Town, Within the Walls
Unique in its design, the system still had some flaws. The town was once home to close to 1,000 residents. They lived there for protection and community. Today, approximately 300 live within the city walls. Why? Look how narrow the streets are. No cars can come into these streets. That means you have to carry everything in and out of the walled city. There are steps everywhere; only one street has no steps.
While we were exploring the old city, we climbed the bell tower at the Korcula Cathedral. The stairs were not for the weak of heart. The view from the top was breathtaking. I hoped the bells did not ring while I was up there.
Climbing the Cathedral Tower.
One evening we went to the west side of the walled city to have dinner and see the sunset. People seem to do that a lot here. It was not disappointing.
Sunset View
On the second full day, we took the ferry, a 35-minute ride, to the island of Mljet. One of Croatia’s National Parks is on the island. With a bit of trepidation, along with Mary, I rented an E-bike to bike the park. After a few practice runs up and down the main street, I was ready to go.
Mljet National Park is a large area that borders two saltwater lakes. The Lakes stretch for about 4 kilometers. Right in the middle of the Large Lake, there is a small island/islet, Melita (Sveta Marija), with a large building of the former Benedictine monastery, erected there in the 12th century. The monastery’s building is now a café/restaurant. The small island is connected by boats that sail there from both sides of the Lake.
Miljet National Park.
The Benedictine Monastery is now a restaurant. You flag them from the mainland, and they send a boat over to pick you up. It was early, so we pushed on.
There was a small steep bridge we needed to cross with our bikes. Up, Up. Down, Down. Have I told you how heavy E-bikes are? Our very own angels showed up. They easily lifted the bikes up and down while Zee and I followed behind.
The bridge is fairly new. At one point, Tito moved to the island with the Monastery. He tore down the original bridge to gain full access to the ocean and bring in supplies. After he left, the new bridge was built.
The National Park was cool, quiet, and unhurried. It took us about 3 hours to bike the park. I enjoyed stopping and looking at all the Butterflies on the thistle and lavender.
Upon our return to the ferry port, we found a cool place in the shade, met this lovely woman from Switzerland, and chatted until the ferry returned us to Korcula.
Today we say farewell to the islands and return to the mainland. Back to the big city, Dubrovnik. Well, not quite the big city, as Dubrovnik has approximately 40,000 residents. I am not quite done exploring yet. We have two full days to explore before returning to Istanbul and the flight stateside. Oh, what a trip it has been.
