Krk ( it, Veglia) is the main settlement of 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 Kot ...

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 ...

Characteristics

It is located on the southwest coast of the island and is the historical seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Krk The Diocese of Krk ( hr, Krčka biskupija; la, Dioecesis Veglensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church active on the Croatian islands of Krk, Rab, Cres and Lošinj, as well as a few smaller ones and also a m ...

. The city is ancient, being among the oldest in the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

. It has been continuously inhabited since ancient times including the

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo ...

and later the Romans, and was once part of the Byzantine '' Theme Dalmatia'' after the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...

had fallen to the

barbarian A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either Civilization, uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by som ...

s. Roman ruins can be seen today in some parts of the town, for example mosaics in the houses. The city had also preserved many medieval fortifications, including

Frankopan Castle Frankopan Castle ( hr, Frankopanski Kaštel) is a castle located on the southwest coast of the Krk, island Krk, in the ancient town of Krk (town), Krk, which is one of the oldest towns in the Adriatic, in Croatia. History Frankopan Castle on ''Ka ...

close to the Kamplin park, and part of the city walls built during the five centuries when the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

ruled the city. The main square of the old city is called ''Kamplin'': which is derived from the Latin word "campus", meaning field. During Roman times, a training area was located here close to the thermal Roman spas. The remnants of the temple columns at the square gives witness to a large building from Roman times. In the 13th century one of the "cadet branches" of the aristocratic Italian Frangipani family settled in the city and gave rise to the Croatian family of the

Frankopan 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 ...

. Krk was the last Croatian island to be occupied by the Venetians. Krk and surrounding area were known for large use of glagoljica. In the 19th century the city was center of the

Illyrian movement The Illyrian movement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Ilirski pokret, Илирски покрет; sl, Ilirsko gibanje) was a pan-South-Slavic cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian inte ...

. The city was once known for its unique Romance language called ''Vegliotic'' (one of the two main branches of the extinct

Dalmatian language Dalmatian () or Dalmatic (; dlm, langa dalmata, link=no or simply ; it, lingua dalmatica, dalmatico; sh, dalmatski) was a Romance language that was spoken in the Dalmatia region of present-day Croatia, and as far south as Kotor in Monteneg ...

), which was spoken until the early 19th century. There was a large Italian community in the city, but Italy eventually gave up the island in favor of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in 1921 (when the city was officially called ''Krk'' for the first time), and many of its Italian-speaking residents subsequently left for Istria and Italy. The city was temporarily occupied by D'Annunzio in 1921 and twenty years later was integrated into the Italian Province of

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

between 1941 and 1943.

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

's Partisans liberated the city in 1944. There it is still a small indigenous Italian community, represented within the "Unione Italiana" of Croatia.

Demographics

Gallery

File:Krk city 1.JPG, Krk Old Town File:Krk City 6.JPG, Houses in Krk File:Krk city view.jpg, Boats at the port File:Croatia Krk BW 2014-10-12 12-13-56.jpg, Town marketplace File:20140506 Krk town Trg Kamplin.jpg, Kamplin Square File:Park Krk.jpg, Town Park File:Baška019.jpg, Church of the Assumption File:Kamplinsquarekrk.jpg, Kamplin Square during a tourist season

References

External links

Cultural Monuments

Krk (town) official Website

Krk (town) Tourist Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krk (Town) Krk Cities and towns in Croatia Populated coastal places in Croatia Populated places in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Seaside resorts in Croatia Illyrian Croatia