Oldest town on the Croatian Adriatic coast

Situated on the island of Hvar, is Stari Grad, the oldest town on the Croatian Adriatic coast. It was founded by Greek colonists from the Aegean island of Paros 385 BC and named Pharos. Later Romans who took over those territories called it Pharia and Croats who came after them – Hvar. It has been known as Stari Grad since the 14th century, which means the “Old Town” in Croatian.

Hvar island has almost 2,800 hours of sunshine per year. There is however enough rain to keep the island green and to maintain the beautiful fields of lavender, rosemary, sage, marjoram and thyme and the carefully cultivated vineyards.

Hvar is the fourth largest of Croatia’s islands at 182 square miles (300 square km) in size

Hvar Island was a major trade center and naval base during the times of the Venetian Republic, when it had its own fleet of merchant sail boats. That was a time of great prosperity and glory when many still existent palaces, fortifications, and communal buildings were built (one of the first public theatres in Europe was built in Hvar town in 1612).