Omišalj ( it, Castel Muschio; german: Moschau) is a coastal municipality in the north-west of the island of Krk in Croatia. 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 as well as Port of Rijeka

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 Krk, dating from the 1st century, when it was built by the Romans and named ''

Fulfinum Municipium Flavium Fulfinum was an old Roman settlement on the island of Krk, Croatia, just a few kilometres from the town of Omišalj. Archaeological findings show the first traces of settlement in the area dating back into the 1st century wh ...

''. The town was built on the cliff overlooking the bay of Kvarner, some 80 meters above sea level. It is the site of an early Christian basilica. The town was referred to in the 12th century as "Castri musculi": this is from the Latin ''Ad musculi'' meaning "the place of shells". The land between the castles of Dobrinj and Omišalj, as well as the areas in and around Dubašnica and Poljica, were settled by Vlachs 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 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 sev ...

) 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