Biševo (, Chakavian: Bisovo) is a Croatian

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the

Adriatic Sea 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 Se ...

. It is situated in the middle of the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

, 5 km south-west of the Island of Vis. Its area is First Croatian online peljar
/ref> and it has a population of 15 (as of 2011).

Geography

Biševo is composed of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. The highest point is Stražbenica, high, accessible by a 45-minute walk along the footpath. In the center of the island there is a fertile field; the northern part of the island is covered with

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

forests and the rest with

maquis shrubland 220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; , ; ; ; ) is a savanna-like shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis ...

or bare rocks. The coastal sea belt is a rich fishing area.Biševo at dalmacija.net
/ref> The main industries are

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

Caves

Blue Cave

On the steep shores there are many

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s, the most famous being Blue Cave, which was carved in the limestone by the sea. It is located on the eastern side of the island and is one of the most important attractions of the Adriatic. It was well-known to local fishermen, who in 1884 showed it to the Austrian artist, explorer, and speleologist , who published an article in the Viennese daily ''

Neue Freie Presse ''Neue Freie Presse'' ("New Free Press") was a Viennese newspaper founded by Adolf Werthner together with the journalists Max Friedländer and Michael Etienne on 1 September 1864 after the staff had split from the newspaper ''Die Presse''. It ...

'' declaring that its beauty surpassed even that of

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

's famed Blue Grotto. From that time on, it became a major tourist attraction. The approach to the cave is only possible by boat. It is long, deep, and high. The entrance to the cave is only high and wide.Biševo on nautic-apartments.com
During the summer between 10 am and 1 pm, sunbeams penetrate the submarine opening in Blue Cave and are reflected from the white floor, colouring the cave blue and objects in the water silver.

Monk Seal Cave

Also known as Medvedina, the

is lies on the south-east side of the island and has been protected since 1967. The name of the cave originates commemorates the

Mediterranean monk seal The Mediterranean monk seal (''Monachus monachus'') is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. , it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the A ...

s, now an endangered species, which used to populated it. It is special geomorphologically because the entrance into the Monk Seal Cave is quite big and wide, it narrows completely towards the interior. The length of the cave is 160 m and it ends with a small beach that only small vessels, such as speedboats, can reach. This cave is difficult to spot when cruising away from the shore, due to the unusually narrow, almost vertical, 30 m high opening in the stone gorge. The interior of the cave consists of a main, spacious hall and a low winding canal which, after about 70 m, ends with a small beach. It is a well-known Dalmatian islands tourist attraction.

Birds

Biševo, along with Vis, Sveti Andrija and its neighbouring islet of Kamnik, Brusnik, Jabuka and the

Palagruža Palagruža (; ) is a small Croatian archipelago in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. It is uninhabited, except by lighthouse staff and occasional summer tourists. Palagruža can be reached only by a chartered motorboat, requiring a journey of seve ...

archipelago, forms part of the Croatian Offshore Islands

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA). This was designated as such by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports significant breeding populations of Scopoli's and

Yelkouan shearwater upright=0.8, Egg of the yelkouan shearwater The yelkouan shearwater, Levantine shearwater or Mediterranean shearwater (''Puffinus yelkouan'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It was formerly treated as a subspec ...

s, as well as of

Eleonora's falcon Eleonora's falcon (''Falco eleonorae'') is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus ''Hypotriorchis''. The sooty falcon is sometimes considered its closest rel ...

History

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

was founded on Biševo in 1050 by Ivan Grlić from

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

, but it was deserted two centuries later because of the danger of

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s. The

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

of Saint Sylvester is preserved near the ruins of the monastery. There was a school on the island, built in 1947 and closed in 1961. Electricity was introduced in the 1970s.

References

Bibliography

External links

The initiative “Saving the island of Bisevo”

Petition "Saving the island of Bisevo from uncontrolled development"

Biševo Island Artist Residency Program

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bisevo Islands of Croatia Important Bird Areas of Croatia Important Bird Areas of Adriatic islands Islands of the Adriatic Sea Landforms of Split-Dalmatia County