Šotovento is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Primorje-Gorski Kotar County ( hr, Primorsko-goranska županija, ) is a county in western Croatia that includes the Bay of Kvarner, the surrounding Northern Croatian Littoral, and the mountainous region of Gorski kotar. Its center is Rijeka. The ...

on the island of

Krk Krk (; it, Veglia; ruo, Krk; dlm, label= Vegliot Dalmatian, Vikla; la, Curicta; grc-gre, Κύρικον, Kyrikon) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kota ...

in western

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Part of the town of

, it is adjacent to

Malinska-Dubašnica Malinska-Dubašnica is a municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county on the island Krk of in western Croatia. Its centre is Malinska. There are 2,726 inhabitants, with 90% Croats. It was established as a municipality in 1993. The municipal g ...

Geography

Sotovento covers of the western town of Krk, on the island of Krk. According to the 2011 census, there were 1,206 inhabitants in 10 settlements: Valbiska port

Other settlements and sites include Brozici, Kapovci and Glavotok, and the ferry port of Valbiska. Glavotok, the island's westernmost point, belonged to the

Frankopan family The House of Frankopan ( hr, Frankopani, Frankapani, it, Frangipani, hu, Frangepán, la, Frangepanus, Francopanus), was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croati ...

during the 14th century. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Franciscan

Third Order Regular of Saint Francis of Penance The Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance or simply the Third Order Regular of St. Francis ( la, Tertius Ordo Regularis Sancti Francisci) is a mendicant order rooted in the Third Order of St. Francis which was founded in 1221. The me ...

built a monastery and several houses. Near Glavotok is an oak forest. Valbiska has been a dock for ferries on the Valbiska-Merag line, from

to the island of

Cres Cres (; dlm, Crepsa, vec, Cherso, it, Cherso, la, Crepsa, Greek language, Greek: Χέρσος, ''Chersos'') is an Adriatic island in Croatia. It is one of the northern islands in the Kvarner Gulf and can be reached via ferry from Rijeka, ...

, since 2009; this followed ferry lines from Baška to Lopar and Valbiska to Lopar, on the island of Rab. It has a catering facility and a gas station. The boundary between Šotovento and the rest of Krk begins at the bay of Cavlenet in the northwest and passes the Klobučac and Vrhura mountains, the border with Dubašnica in the north. From Vrh Vrh the boundary runs south to Valbiska, separating Sotovento (in the east) from Vrh and the Picik region. In the west and south are the Middle Gate, the sea channel between Krk and Cres.

Name

Šotovento derives from the Italian ''sotto'' (below) and ''vento'' (the wind). Located below several small mountains – Vrhzur, ; Kukurik, and Skrlat, – it is protected from the bora. This protection, and its southwest orientation, favored vegetation.

History

Šotovento has always been part of the town of Krk. When the

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

arrived on the island of Krk during the 7th century, they settled on its eastern part. Many place names in the west, therefore, remain Romance rather than Slavic in origin. When Ivan VII Frankapan (who owned the island of Krk) decided to expand his holdings during the 15th century to increase tax revenue,

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

had settled in Dubasnica, Šotovento and northern Dobrinj. They spoke the Krčurumunj language, whose last speaker (Mate Bajcic) died in 1875. The island was divided into seven municipalities in 1992, and Šotovento remained within the town of Krk.

Attractions

Šotovento has a number of churches and other religious buildings: * Franciscan monastery in Glavotok * Parish church in Poljice * Church of St. Francis in Skrbčić - Built during the late 16th or early 17th century, it has been renovated and expanded twice. * Chapel of St. Peter in Brzac – Built in 1693 by Juraj Nenadić Matov and his wife, Kate Zako. * Chapel of St. Leonarda in Bajčići - Built in 1769 * Chapel of St. Cecilia in Brusići - 1565 Ruins remain of a number of other chapels. Near the monastery at Glavotok is a protected one-hectare oak forest. Several large oaks grow near Cavlent Bay; the largest is over 400 years old and in diameter.

References

Sources

* Bolonić, Mihovil and Žic-Rokov, Ivan. "The Island of Krk through the Centuries". ''The Christian Present'', Zagreb (2002) * ''The Island of Krk is a Western Part''. Historical Society of the Island of Krk (1986) * Lešić, Denis: ''The Island of Krk: A Guide in Words and Pictures'' (2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sotovento Populated places in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County