Pakoštane is a village and municipality in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, located in

Zadar County Zadar County ( ) is a county in Croatia, it encompasses northern Dalmatia and southeastern Lika. Its seat is the city of Zadar. Geography Among the largest towns in the county of Zadar are: Zadar, Benkovac, Bibinje, Biograd, Nin, Croatia, Nin ...

. It is a tourist town with many gravel beaches and pine woods.

Geography

To the north of the town lies the Lake Vrana Nature Park, a popular picnic spot teeming with freshwater

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

. Further north of the lake, 6 km from Pakoštane, is the historic settlement of Vrana.

Demographics

In 2021, the municipality had 4,100 residents in the following 4 settlements: * Drage, population 933 *Pakoštane, population 2180 * Vrana, population 778 * Vrgada, population 209 In 2011, 97% of the population were

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

Materine užance

Materine užance (Mothers' customs) is an ethno-gastronomic event which takes place during the summer tourist season in Pakoštane. The Pakoštane Tourist Board and the Pakoštane Municipality organise the event. Materine užance has been taking place in the centre of Pakoštane every year since 2008. There are numerous stands in the centre of Pakoštane where authentic local food (boiled

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

shellfish Shellfish, in colloquial and fisheries usage, are exoskeleton-bearing Aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrates used as Human food, food, including various species of Mollusca, molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish ...

, pršut (smoked ham),

cheeses Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

, čućke,

gnocchi Gnocchi are a varied family of pasta-like dumplings in Italian cuisine. They are made of small rolls of dough, such as those composed of a simple combination of wheat flour,Buonassisi, recipe #831-833 potato,Buonassisi, recipe #854-857 egg,Buonas ...

, sweet desserts like mimice, fritule, kroštule,

almonds The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera by corrugations on the sh ...

in sugar, etc.) is prepared in front of visitors and can be tasted and purchased.

Notable people

* Croatian general

Ante Gotovina Ante Gotovina (born 12 October 1955) is a Croatian retired lieutenant general and former French senior corporal who served in the Croatian War for Independence. He is noted for his primary role in the 1995 Operation Storm. In 2001, the Intern ...

grew up in Pakoštane. * Maks Baće

References

Municipalities of Croatia Populated coastal places in Croatia Populated places in Zadar County {{Zadar-geo-stub