Isla de Lokrum, Croacia, 2014-04-14, DD 01

Lokrum (, it, Lacroma) is an island 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 ...

from the city of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

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 ...

. It stretches from northwest to southeast and receives regular ferry service from the Old City port. Austrian archduke (and short-lived Emperor of Mexico)

Maximilian Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459� ...

once had a holiday home on the island. A

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

survive from his era. On the island's highest point at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

stands Fort Royal Castle, which was built by the French during Napoleon's occupation of Croatia, though it was later named "Maximilian's Tower" by the Austrians.

History

Dubrovnik 2016-05-26 DSC06253 view from the wall twd Lokrum

The first written mention of Lokrum was in 1023 when the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbey and monastery were founded. The name Lokrum comes from the Latin, , meaning sour fruit. This derives from the tradition of cultivating exotic plants on the island, a tradition started in the time of the

Benedictines , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

. The last Benedictines left the island in 1808. The Island is commonly believed by the populace of Croatia to be cursed. Legend states that the island's Benedictine monks were forced to leave by an individual of power, commonly the pope or the ruling nobility, with the monks given a set of time to leave the island. On the night of the deadline to leave, it is said the monks travelled the island dripping a trail of candle wax, and placed a curse on the island and anyone who tried to seek it for their own in the future. According to legend,

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

was shipwrecked in 1192 after returning home from the

crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

and was cast safely ashore on Lokrum. He pledged to build a church on the island but, at the plea of

citizens, the church was built on the nearby mainland instead. Archduke Maximilian Ferdinand of Habsburg had a mansion built on the island in 1859 with a magnificent garden laid out, criss-crossed with pathways, full of amazing plants and botanical wonders. The island was originally purchased by Maximilian's wife Charlotte of Mexico, with part of her marriage dowry, and she retained ownership of the island even after she and her husband became Emperor and Empress of Mexico. After the Emperor Maximilian's execution the island was surrendered to the Habsburg Family in a deal struck between

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...

and

Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

. Charlotte had become insane and Leopold had renounced in the name of his sister all claims to her and her husband's property in Austria. Leopold was more concerned with acquiring his sister's great fortune than with her rights to property in Austria. The island was given to

Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria hu, Erzsébet Mária Henrietta Stefánia Gizella , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria , mother = Princess Stéphanie of Belgium , spouse = , issue = , religion = Roman Catholicism , birth_place = Fra ...

as part of her marriage dowry; Yugoslavia claimed it under the

Treaty of Saint-Germain A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

. Princess Elizabeth stated that she was no longer a Habsburg, having renounced her rights on the occasion of her marriage; therefore Yugoslavia had no right to sequester the property. The case was settled by a payment of $575,000 to the Princess. In 1959 a Botanical Garden was founded on Lokrum which contains native and imported, tropical and subtropical plants, and other vegetation originating in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and South America. The island is also inhabited by families of

peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

s brought over by Maximilian from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. Over the course of the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

, the island sustained 50 direct hits by Serbian Artillery bombardment, with much of the botanical gardens sustaining damage and the historical Library and the records kept with it burning down.

Locations

The following are notable locations on Lokrum.

Benedictine Monastery

The Benedictine Monastery is perhaps the most predominant of all Points of Interest on Lokrum. The Monastery is first historically referenced in 1023 and existed until some point in the 15th century at which point the Benedictine Monks were forced to leave the island. Popular legend states that, upon their eviction from the Island, the monks of Lokrum passed a curse on any who possessed the island. A portion of the Monastery has been converted into a restaurant and another segment has been converted into a museum. The replica of The Iron Throne can be found at the Benedictine Monastery.

Botanical Garden

On the eastern side of the island, protected from the open sea, there is a small natural harbour. The island covers an area of and is covered in thick

Mediterranean flora Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...

and woods:

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

and black pines. There are also

olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

, agaves,

cacti A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

and palms. On the southern part of the island there is a small salt lake, 10 m deep, known as "the Dead Sea" (Mrtvo More). Nearby there is a deserted Benedictine monastery, founded in 1023. The triple-naved basilica, and a 14th-century part of the monastery were badly damaged in the 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake. The monastery was deserted in 1798. Today Lokrum is a Nature Reserve and a Special Forest Vegetation Reserve. At some point after 2014, the

European Rabbit The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has ...

(''Oryctolagus cuniculus L.'') was illegally introduced to Lokrum. Since then, it has become highly invasive, causing large scale damage to the Botanical Gardens and destroying some of the 200 species of plant found in the Botanical Gardens. File:Lokrum-1.jpg, Path to the botanical garden File:Botanički vrt (Lokrum).JPG, View of the botanical garden File:Nolina longifolia-1.jpg, '' Nolina longifolia'' File:Puya chilensis-2.jpg, ''

Puya chilensis ''Puya chilensis'' is a terrestrial bromeliad originating from the arid hillsides of Chile. Description An evergreen perennial, it forms large, dense rosettes of grey-green, strap-like leaves edged with hooked spines. The green or yellow flower ...

Charlotte's Well

Charlotte's Well is an oval retaining pond dating from Maximilian of Habsburg's ownership of the island.

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is a small salt lake located on the southern side of the Island of Lokrum. The lake is fed from a series of caves and fractures in the island. These caves and fractures can be observed and, in some cases, traversed from the surrounding sea. The lake itself is believed to have been formed by the collapse of a large cavern. The lake is considered a tourist attraction and is regularly visited by tourists and scuba divers.

Fort Royal

Fort Royal is a military emplacement located on the highest peak of Lokrum overlooking Dubrovnik. Construction of this fortress began under the French Empire in 1806 and was completed in 1835 by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

References

External links

Botanical Garden on the Island of Lokrum

Island of Lokrum, An Island of Legend and Authenticity

The Legend of the Lokrum Curse
{{Authority control Dubrovnik Islands of the Adriatic Sea Islets of Croatia Landforms of Dubrovnik-Neretva County Nude beaches Tourism in Dubrovnik