Premuda () is a small island in
Croatia, off the northern
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, 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) ...
coast. It belongs to the north
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
n islands which are situated north-west from the county center
Zadar. Premuda is approximately long, up to wide, and has an area of .
[
] It is situated southwest of
Silba and northwest of
Å karda and is the last island before the
Italian coastline.
Premuda was first mentioned in historical sources by ''
Tabula Peutingeriana'', as Pamodos. In the 7th century, the island is mentioned as Primodia, derived from Latin ''primus'' ("the first"), indicating its geographical position as the first island in the Zadar Channel seen from the northwest. In 16th and 17th centuries Premuda was targeted by
Ottoman corsairs
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe as the ...
who took the islanders away as slaves. This reduced the island's population to just 26 in 1608. In the 18th century, the island recovered through immigration, mostly from
Olib, and by 1760 the population grew to 322.
Natural water resources on Premuda are scarce, which has historically been a limiting factor in the island's development. The island's population peaked at 577 inhabitants in 1857, and has steadily declined since, particularly in the second half of the 20th century, when many islanders moved to
Zadar and
Rijeka
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 ...
, and also to North and South America.
Electricity was introduced to Premuda in 1971. The elementary school, opened in 1867, was closed in 1991. The island's telephone network was built in 1998.
The only settlement on the island, the town of Premuda, has about 60 inhabitants but the population strongly varies during the summer season. The population of Premuda is cultivating
olive
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'' ...
s and breeding
sheep and in the last few years they have become involved in tourism. There are three restaurants on the island.
Premuda is a destination for nautical and diving tourists, and has a number of
diving spots. The "Katedrala" is a system of connected
caves with light rays that fall through the porous ceiling of the caves. Another well-known underwater site is the wreck of the
World War I Austro-Hungarian
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
SMS ''Szent István'', which is located 8 NM off the coast of Premuda at a depth of .
References
Bibliography
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External links
Premuda photosDiving information
{{Authority control
Islands of Croatia
Islands of the Adriatic Sea
Landforms of Zadar County