Ist ( it, Isto) is a small island off the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stret ...

n coast of

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 ...

. The closest city to Ist is

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar se ...

. The island has an area of 9.65 km². Ist is located between the islands of Škarda and

Molat Molat (pronounced ; it, Melada) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It is situated near Zadar, southeast from Ist, separated by Zapuntel strait. It has area of . The settlements on the island are Molat (population 107), Zapuntel (pop. 42 ...

. The entire island has a permanent population of 182. During the past 50 years it has witnessed a slow depopulation which has halved its number of inhabitants. The

Croatian Government The Government of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Hrvatske), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Republike Hrvatske), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government ( hr, hrvatska Vlada), is the main executive branch of government ...

is attempting to attract people to the island through its National Programme of Islands’ Development as well as economic revival (which could result in the construction of a bridge to nearby Molat). Recently the island has benefited from the development of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. In World War II, the Battle of Ist was a naval engagement off Ist on 29 February 1944. The engagement was fought between Free French

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It i ...

destroyers and a ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'' force of two corvettes, two torpedo boats and three minesweepers which were protecting a freighter. The French managed to destroy the German freighter and a corvette without losses of their own before withdrawing.

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Socio-Geographic Transformation of Ist Island, Croatia
Islands of Croatia Islands of the Adriatic Sea Populated places in Zadar County Landforms of Zadar County {{Zadar-geo-stub

See also

References

External links