Omišalj ( it, Castel Muschio; german: Moschau) is a coastal municipality in the north-west 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 ...

. The population of Omišalj itself is 1,868 (2011), while the municipality also includes the nearby village of Njivice, bringing the total up to 2,983 people. Omišalj is best known in modern times for hosting the

Rijeka Airport Rijeka Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Rijeka, it, Aeroporto di Fiume; ) is the international airport serving Rijeka, Croatia. It is located near the town of Omišalj on the island of Krk, 17 km from the Rijeka railway station. Most of the traf ...

as well as

Port of Rijeka The Port of Rijeka ( hr, Luka Rijeka, ) is a seaport in Rijeka, Croatia, located on the shore of the Kvarner Gulf in the Adriatic Sea. The first records of the port date to 1281. It was the main port of the History of Hungary 1700–1919, Kingdom ...

oil terminal An oil terminal (also called a tank farm, tankfarm, oil installation or oil depot) is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obt ...

History

Omišalj is located close to one of the oldest settlements on

, dating from the 1st century, when it was built by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and named '' Fulfinum''. The town was built on the cliff overlooking the bay of

Kvarner The Kvarner Gulf (, or , la, Sinus Flanaticus or ), sometimes also Kvarner Bay, is a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea, located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian Littoral mainland. The bay is a part of Croatia's internal ...

, some 80 meters above sea level. It is the site of an early Christian

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

. The town was referred to in the 12th century as "Castri musculi": this is from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''Ad musculi'' meaning "the place of shells". The land between the castles of

Dobrinj Dobrinj is a village and municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia, on the island of Krk. There are 2,078 inhabitants in the municipality, with 91% Croats. Geography Dobrinj and the municipality of the same name are ...

and Omišalj, as well as the areas in and around

Dubašnica Dubašnica ( it, Dubasnizza) was a village in the northwestern part of the island of Krk, now in Croatia, at the south of Malinska and near Poljica. It was first mentioned in the 15th century and became extinct in the 18th century as a result of ...

and Poljica, were settled by

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 ...

and

Morlachs Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци or , ; it, Morlacchi; ro, Morlaci) has been an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach p ...

(originally

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

who later diverged into

Istro-Romanians The Istro-Romanians ( ruo, rumeri or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to or associated with the Istrian Peninsula. Historically, they inhabited vast parts of it, as well as the western side of the island of Krk until 1875. However, due to se ...

) by

Ivan VII Frankopan Ivan VII or Ivan Krčki (of Krk) was the only prince of the semi-independent united Krk (the Principality of Krk) from 1451–1480. He was a prince of the House of Frankopan. As he needed more manpower, Frankopan settled Morlachs and Vlachs (Romani ...

during the second half of the 15th century. They formed a community in the island of Krk that would last until 1875, when the last speaker of the Istro-Romanian dialect of the island died.

Folk Theater Festival

Every year in Omišalj takes place the ''Festival pučkog teatra'' ("Folk Theater Festival"), which is a "a kind of celebration of folk dramatic expression." The performances take place on Prikešte Square in Omišalj and in the old castle in the town of Grobnik,

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 ...

References

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20041215023052/http://www.krkinfo.com/omisalj.htm * http://www.croatiainfo.net/e_Omisalj.html * http://www.janaf.hr/ * http://www.islandkrk.com/ Krk Municipalities of Croatia Populated places in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Seaside resorts in Croatia {{PrimorjeGorskiKotar-geo-stub