The island of Krk (159)

Krk is in many ways a unique island that attracts attention with its extremely rich history, culture and natural beauty.

Among 1185 islands in Croatia, of which 66 are inhabited, the island of Krk, along with the neighboring island of Cres, is the largest island with an area of 405.78 km2 and a coastline of 219.12 km. The island of Krk is located in the Kvarner Bay near the city of Rijeka and although it is located in the north, the Mediterranean climate provides the island with warm summers and mild winters. If one asks older islanders when the bathing season begins, the answer is "on the first Sunday in May" - which, when translated into Celsius, means 16 to 19 degrees. As a rule, the sea is pleasant for swimming from June to September, and if the islanders are blessed with warm weather, even until October.

Due to the small number of shipping lines, most of the Croatian islands are not well connected to the mainland. However, this is not the case with the island of Krk, which can be reached by sea, as well as from the mainland and from the air. Due to the construction of the Krk Bridge, the island is practically connected to the land, and Rijeka Airport is actually located on the island of Krk near Omišalj.

According to the 2011 population census, the island has 19,286 inhabitants, and this number can be up to 6 times higher during the summer months when many tourists flock to the beaches on Krk in search of a vacation. It is interesting to note that precisely for this reason the number of accommodation facilities on the island is higher than the number of inhabitants – more than 20 thousand facilities have been built on Krk in recent years in order to enrich the tourist and overall development of the island, and their number is increasingly growing. 

Nevertheless, much of the island is covered with forests, but also olive groves. Apart from olive groves and olive oil, the islanders can also enjoy other various specialties that are characteristic of their island, like „žlahtina“ – a variety of dry white wine that grows exclusively in Vrbnik, „šurlice“ – handmade pasta, „Krk prosciutto“ – prosciutto with salted herbs from the island dried in „bura“ (a cold wind blowing from Velebit). Krk prosciutto is also the first Croatian product to be protected in the EU. Due to the aforementioned rich gastronomic offer, various events are held during the summer, such as Šurlice Days, Wine Days, Fig Days, Black Sheep, etc.

The island has as many as 68 settlements and 7 local units, namely the City of Krk and the municipalities of Baška, Dobrinj, Malinska, Omišalj, Punat and Vrbnik.