Smokvica is a village on the island of

Korčula Korčula () is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The populat ...

and a municipality in the

Dubrovnik-Neretva County The Dubrovnik-Neretva County (; , ) is the southernmost county of Croatia. The county seat is Dubrovnik and other large towns are Korčula, Metković, Opuzen and Ploče. The Municipality of Neum, which belongs to neighbouring Bosnia and Herz ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Smokvica is located in the centre of the island of

, about 4 kilometers west of

Čara Čara is a village on the island of Korčula in Croatia. Korčula the island, is part of the Dalmatian coast and it belongs to the Dubrovnik-Neretva county. The village is situated twenty-five kilometers west of the old town of Korčula (town), Ko ...

, 13 kilometers east of Blato and 4 kilometers north from

Brna Brna is a village on the southern coast of the island of Korčula in western Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders S ...

. It is known as the birthplace of one of the best-known Croatian wines -

Pošip Pošip is an autochthonous white wine grape that is primarily grown in the Dalmatian region of Croatia on the island of Korčula, although small amounts are also being grown on the Pelješac Peninsula. While found in many areas around the Korču ...

. The large

Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

church of the ''Purification of Our Lady'' was designed by

Oton Iveković Oton Iveković (; 17 April 1869 – 4 July 1939) was a Croats, Croatian painter. A graduate of Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Iveković later taught at the University of Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts, Academy of Fine ...

and built in 1920 on the site of an older church which was built in 1666. Beside it is a "loggia", a

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

building surrounded by columns on all sides. In the village there are several old patrician summer houses, and nearby there are several small early-medieval churches. The Ante Cefera cultural and performing society in the village nurtures the music and local folk dance called Kumpanija. Smokvica has several fertile fields that are named Krusevo, Prapratna, Stiniva, Banja, Sitnica, Livin Dol and Cipojino polje. The seaside village of

is part of the municipality of Smokvica. Over 70% of the area of the municipality is forested land. About 250 hectares (625 acres) are devoted to vineyards with about two million grape vines. Another 144 hectares (360 acres) are olive orchards with 176,000 olive trees.

History

The origin of the name Smokvica is not completely understood. It is understood that it might have come from the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

language

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, which means pathways. It is also possible that the name could be linked with the presence of water, due to the numerous ponds and lakes in the field of Sitnica in ancient times. Most likely the name has nothing to do with the Mediterranean fruit tree, the

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...

( Croatian: "smokva"). Smokvica has been inhabited since ancient times. Numerous remains of ancient ceramics have been found in the area. Mostly old

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and Roman wine and olive oil vases. There are also remains of ancient Greek villas. In the Korčula Statut

from 1214 Smokvica is mentioned (but the earliest dated mention of Smokvica is in 1338). The Korčula Statute recommends on the defense of the old town of Korčula as well as Blato, Smokvica, Čara,

Pupnat Pupnat is a village on the island of Korčula in Croatia on the Dalmatian coast within the Dubrovnik-Neretva county. The village is situated 12 kilometres west of the old town of Korčula, 8 kilometres west of Žrnovo and 13 kilometres east of Č ...

and

Žrnovo Žrnovo is a village on the island of Korčula in Croatia. Korčula is an island on the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea and administratively belongs to the Dubrovnik–Neretva County of Croatia. The village is situated four kilometers west of t ...

. Smokvica along with the island of Korčula was part of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

(1420-1797). On June 10, 1715, at the crack of dawn, 260 Turkish pirates in two galleys landed at

, 3 miles southwest of Smokvica, and carried away 23 residents of Smokvica to be sold as slaves, along with Don Marko Bono from Zrnovo, the parish priest. Don Marko was sold as a slave in

Ulcinj Ulcinj () is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 11,488. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast, it was founded in 5th ...

for 100 sequins but was later ransomed by his relatives for 141 sequins and returned to Smokvica where he remained until his death in 1745.

Dinko Tomasic Dinko is a South Slavic masculine given name. In Croatian it is a diminutive of Dominko, a variant of Dominik. It is also found in Bulgaria. Notable people with the name include: *Dinko Dermendzhiev (1941–2019), Bulgarian football player and m ...

(1902–1975), the first Croatian sociologist, was born in Smokvica. His father Frano Tomasic Dezevic (1854–1926) was the first teacher in Smokvica. Following the 1934 assassination of

King of Yugoslavia This article lists the heads of state of Yugoslavia from the Creation of Yugoslavia, creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia) in 1918 until the Breakup of Yugoslavia, breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

and

French Foreign Minister The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (, MEAE) is the ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to the National Assembly. The ter ...

Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the French Third Republic, Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

during king's

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of state, head of a sovereign state, sovereign country (or Governor-general, representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, 30 young men from Smokvica did not shave their

beards A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, beards are most commonly seen on Puberty, pubescent or adult males, though women have been observed with ...

for six months as a sign of mourning. During World War II, the pastor's house was burned down during a German attack on August 7, 1944, with the loss of the parish archive dating back to 1604. A plaque in Smokvica lists the names of 43 Partisans from Smokvica who were killed in the National Liberation War, along with 16 civilians.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, its population was 868. It had a population of 916 in the census of 2011, and 1,210 in the census of 2001. The absolute majority have been

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

(98-99%).

References

External links

Korculainfo.com
{{Authority control Korčula Populated places in Dubrovnik-Neretva County Municipalities of Croatia

History

Demographics

See also

References

External links