Vir (; it, Puntadura, Dalmatian: ''Punta de Ura'') is an island on the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea with an area of 22 km². It lies in

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 ...

, north of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

of Zadar. It is connected to the mainland via a road bridge. The main village on the island is the eponymous village of Vir. There are two more villages, Lozice and Torovi. According to the 2011 census, the island had a population of 3,000 inhabitants, making it the 13th most populous island in Croatia. The highest peak on the island is Bandira (112 m).

History

The first known mention of Vir was in ''Mare Nostrum Dalmaticum'' (1069), a charter by Croatian king

Peter Krešimir IV Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, where the island is referred to as ''Ueru'' (''Veru''), a word believed to have an ancient Mediterranean origin, meaning " pasture". As part of the Pacta conventa in 1102, defining the status of Croatia in personal union with Hungary, Vir and the area became a part of a union with the Kingdom of Hungary. During the 1241 Mongol invasion of Europe, the Hungarian King Béla IV of Hungary fled to the south, and the Mongol forces under the leadership of Kadan followed him all the way to

, where they were repelled by the Croatian forces. Afterwards, Hungarian rule was quickly restored back to normal. In 1313, the Republic of Venice sent three thousand soldiers to the island, claiming it, and used it as a base to attack and conquer the nearby city of Zadar. This marks the new era of the reign of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

over the area. Republik Venedig

In the 16th century, the Ottoman conquest of Europe started to threaten the Dalmatian coast, causing Venice to build the Kaštelina fortress as a precaution in case of an Ottoman invasion. Local documents indicate that 36 people lived on Vir in 1579, and 130 people by 1603. During the Napoleonic Wars,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's army established the

Illyrian Provinces The Illyrian Provinces sl, Ilirske province hr, Ilirske provincije sr, Илирске провинције it, Province illirichegerman: Illyrische Provinzen, group=note were an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province of France d ...

over large swaths of Dalmatia, including Vir, as part of a direct rule of the First French Empire from 1809 to 1814. Following the defeat of the French forces, the area became part of the Austrian Empire, in 1867 reformed into Austria-Hungary. Following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary after World War I, Vir became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, while the neighboring Zadar was left as an enclave of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1941,

Fascist Italy Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

ruled by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

conquered the rest of Dalmatia, while Vir was under the control of the Nazi puppet state of Independent State of Croatia. After World War II,

Tito Tito may refer to: People Mononyms * Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman * Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...

Partisan forces Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

expelled Italian forces and incorporated Zadar and Vir into the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by 1945. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia, and the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

escalated in 1991. The Serb and Yugoslav forces mounted an attack on the Zadar area, but were stopped. Vir became a part of the newly sovereign Croatia and was mostly untouched by the war, which ended in 1995.

Tourism

Vir is a

tourist hotspot A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural b ...

. Official statistics in 2018 documented over 80,000 guests from over 70 countries on the island already by the end of July. In 2018, the highest number of foreign tourists was from Slovenia, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Austria,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. With an average of 12.6 overnight stays per tourist, Vir holds the record of the longest time of tourist stays in Croatia.

Over population

The island is one of the biggest described endemic places of origin of house-mouse-borne

lymphocytic choriomeningitis Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) is a rodent-borne viral infectious disease that presents as aseptic meningitis, encephalitis or meningoencephalitis. Its causative agent is ''lymphocytic choriomeningitis mammarenavirus'' (LCMV), a member of the ...

in the world, with

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Act ...

testing having found LCMV antibodies in 36% of the tested population.

Gallery

File:Strand lucica.JPG, Lučica beach File:Image Island of Vir.jpg, The coast File:Brücke nach Vir, Kroatien.JPG, The Privlaka bridge that connects the island File:Croatia-Island of Vir.jpg, An apartment on the island File:Vir september.jpg, A beach on the island File:Chorvatsko - Vir.jpg, A sunset on Vir File:Tropico Beach Bar Vir.jpg, Tropico Beach Bar

References

External links

* {{authority control Islands of Croatia Islands of the Adriatic Sea Municipalities of Croatia Populated places in Zadar County Landforms of Zadar County