Sveti Andrija ( Croatian for "

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

") is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

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 ...

n part of 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 is part of the

Elaphiti Islands The Elaphiti Islands or the Elaphites ( hr, Elafitski otoci or ''Elafiti'') is a small archipelago consisting of several islands stretching northwest of Dubrovnik, in the Adriatic Sea.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 ...

and is situated from

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 ...

, from

Koločep The island of Koločep (; locally known as Kalamota from it, Calamotta) is one of the three inhabited Elaphiti Islands situated near the city of Dubrovnik with an area of . Koločep is the southernmost inhabited island in Croatia. In the 2011 cen ...

, from

Lopud Lopud () is a small island off the coast of Dalmatia, southern Croatia. Lopud is economically the most developed of the Elaphiti Islands, and can be reached by boat from Dubrovnik, Trsteno, Orašac and Zaton. The island is famous for its sandy ...

and from

Šipan Šipan () also Sipano ( it, Giuppana) is the largest of the Elaphiti Islands, northwest of Dubrovnik, Croatia; separated from the mainland coast by the Koločepski Channel; area ; The island is in length, and up to in width. It is the larges ...

. The island is long, and its maximal width is , while its coastline is long. The total area of the island is , with a maximum height elevation of above sea level. The shores of the island are rocky and inhospitable. The western part of the island is covered with pine forest and various

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

growth. Vegetation on the rest of the island is low lying, consisting mainly of bushes. Owing to the numerous

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s present, the island was declared an ornithological reserve.

History

The patrician family Crijević of Ragusa built 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 ...

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 ...

on the island in the 15th century. The remote and isolated monastery was used for various purposes throughout its existence. At one point, it was used to quarantine the inhabitants of the island of

. The monastery was destroyed during the 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake.

Lighthouse

In 1873 a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

was built on the island, financed by the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

government. A two-storey house was built, with a masonry tower in the centre. The building has an area of , and a lantern room with a gallery fitted at the top of the tower. The optic is a clamshell

Fresnel Augustin-Jean Fresnel (10 May 1788 – 14 July 1827) was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, excluding any remnant of Newton's corpuscular the ...

lens. At a height of

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 ...

, the light is visible from a distance of , making it one of the strongest lights in the

Famous people on Sveti Andrija

Ludovik Crijević Tuberon Ludovicus Cerva Tubero ( hr, Ludovik Crijević Tuberon, it, Ludovico Cerva Tuberon, his surname is also written Cervarius; 1459–1527), was a Ragusan historian, known for his historiographic work on the Jagiellon period in Hungary. Life He was ...

, a historian from

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

(now known as Dubrovnik), lived here towards the end of 15th century. In the 16th century,

Mavro Vetranović Mauro Vetrani ( hr, Mavro Vetranović) (1482–1576) was a writer and Benedictine monk from Ragusa. Biography Born in Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik), then the Republic of Ragusa, in 1482, he entered the Benedictine Order in 1507 on the island of Mlje ...

Čavčić, a famous poet from Ragusa, lived on Sveti Andrija as a monk. His poem "Remeta" details the time he spent on the island.

Legend connected with Sveti Andrija

A young girl, Mare, lived with her three brothers on the island of

. Her friend Cvijeta had a brother Niko who was very fond of Mare. The brothers were fishing one night and from the stormy sea they rescued a shipwreck victim, the young

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

Ivan, a member of an influential noble family from Ragusa. After Mare nursed him back to health they fell in love, but their romance was forbidden, as they came from different classes. Ivan tried his best to obtain his father's blessing, but to no avail. Disappointed, he withdrew from ordinary life and became a monk on the island of Sveti Andrija. Mare learned of this and went to the island to meet her beloved. She repeated her visits more and more often, sometimes swimming from Lopud. By the end of the summer, Sveti Andrija was not clearly visible from Lopud any more. To solve the problem of declining visibility, Ivan would light a

lantern A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...

on the rock and wait for Mare while she swam towards the signal. Niko and his brothers found out and decided to get revenge. One evening, as Mare was preparing to swim towards Sveti Andrija, Niko and his brothers were following her. When night came they lit a lantern in their boat and started rowing towards open sea. Mare was following the light further and further away. Ivan waited three nights for her arrival. On the third night, the sea threw Mare's body on the rocks. As a result, Ivan remained in the

for the rest of his life.Document Archived in

-1483

References

Sources