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PAG, an island in the north-Dalmatian archipelago, third
largest in Kvarner, situated between Kvarneric and theVelebit Channel, with a
northwest-southeast extension; area 284,5 sq km; population 7,969 (around 60 km
long, between 2 and 10 km wide). The south-western coast of the island is low,
and the north-western is steep and high: the Pag Bay (with the large Caska Cove)
and Stara Pag Bay; the southeast of the island features three capes. The
climate is Mediterranean. No surface water streams are found on the island;
there are springs near Metajna, Pag, Povljane and Pag. Most of the island is
rocky; smaller areas are covered with Mediterranean shrubs. The southeast of the
island contains karst lakes Velo Blato and Malo Blato. The island's highest peak
is Sveti Vid (St. Vitus, 348 m).
Vine (zutica), vegetables and
fruit are grown in the valleys and fields (Novaljsko, Kolansko, Povljansko,
Vlasicko and Dinjisko). The area of the Lun peninsula (20 x 2 km) is mostly
under olive-groves. Sheep rearing (cheese of Pag, wool) and viniculture also
represent chief occupations on the island. Major places on the island are
connected by a road and a 300m-long bridge built in 1968 (the length of the arch
over the sea is 195 m), via Cape Fortica, Razanac and Posedarje with the main
road. Ferry connection Prizna - Zigljen. Major ports and yachting marinas
include Stara Pag, Pag, Caska, Metajna, Dinjiska, Stara Povljana, Nova
Povljana, Kosljun, Simuni, Mandre, Pag and Tovarnele.
In the past
Pag was inhabited by the Illyrian tribe called Liburnians (the ruins of a fort
and a necropolis near Kolan, in Mihovilje near Pag, in Dabor and Vidasov
Kant); fields with tumuli from the Bronze Age lie between Kosljun and Simun. At
the beginning of the 1st century at the latest, the Ancient Romans constructed a
fortification system to defend themselves against Illyrian tribes: a large
castrum Cissa (Caska), a port castrum Navalia (Pag) and
smaller forts: Kosljun above the Novaljsko field, Svetojasnica on the cape of
the karst Zaglava. Apart from the forts, there were also larger (Pagus)
and smaller Roman settlements (the ruins of a town in Tovarnele near Lun, in the
fields Brbonovica and Lesandrovica, etc.).
The Croats inhabited the
island early; their major settlement after their population of the island was
Kesa (a part of which is included in today's Pag). King Petar Kresimir IV
donated (1071) the northern part of the island to the church of Rab; the
southern part of the island became the property of Zadar. In the Middle Ages Pag
was very often the scene of frequent clashes between the inhabitants of the
island of Rab and those from Zadar. At the end of the 12th century, after the
fall of Kesa, the old town Pag assumed the leading role on the island. - From
1409 to 1797 Pag was under the rule of the Venetian Republic, afterwards shared
the same destiny as the rest of Dalmatia under the Austrian rule. After the
German-Italian occupation in 1941, it fell under the Italian rule, afterwards
occupied by the Germans. In 1945 the island was annexed to Croatia.
The
old folk tradition has been partly preserved: tunes (following the same melody,
the type of singing known as "na kanat"), both the heroic and the love
ones, traditional dances ("po starinski", "po paski", "the ring
of Pag") in Pag and Pag ("po naski"). Traditional arts of the
island are the stitched lacework of Pag (the lacework school was founded in
1906) and the crochet lacework of Pag.
Regardless of the weather
conditions, the island is accessible through the Pag Bridge from Cape Osjak on
the mainland (near Miletici) to Cape Fortica on the island (near Miskovici), 20
km from the town of Pag, the centre of the island. In winter, the bora blowing
from Mt. Velebit can disturb the ferry schedule.
