Visit Pag
I have to post something about my island and my city beacuse it is part of my identity and also a part of my job.. so...
The island of Pag is one of the sunniest Adriatic islands, with over 2,500 hours of sunshine per year. Among the Adriatic’s over 1,000 islands, Pag stands out, for its stony exterior conceals the wealth created over the centuries by the sturdy hands of its hard-working denizens. Pag is truly worth visiting, to discover and savour its many facets.
Pag is a town that offers preserved cultural monuments, gourmet specialties and different, magical stone landscapes. At a first sight, Pag looks rocky and rough, bordered by a sky-blue sea, almost nestled under Mount Velebit's imposing presence. It's often referred to as the “Island of Stone” or a “Moonscape Island” due to its an eerie surface with its rocky terrain and as many different shapes as only nature can create on such a huge insular expanse.
Pag was built in its current location in the 15th century, based to the urban plan by the Croatian architect Juraj Dalmatinac, with the central square and four streets that divide the town into 4 districts.
At the beginning of 20th century, the town expanded outside its walls, but tourism began to develop intensively only with the construction of the Pag Bridge in 1968.
The interesting thing is that the whole island is moonlike. That was the main reason why many car companies have filmed their advertisements here (BMW X5, BMW COUPE, PORSCHE, CHRYSLER. Many people say that BENTLEY is still considering our island as an option for their advertisements.)
The most significant buildings in the town are the Collegiate Church of The Assumption of Mary, the Rector's Palace and the Skrivanat tower, the only remaining of nine towers that once surrounded the town.
Also worth visiting are the churches of St. Francis and St. George, the monastery of Santa Margherita and the archaeological site of the Old Town located a kilometer outside of the town.
A special place in the cultural history of the town belongs to the Pag lace - a special type of lace characterized by extraordinary patterns. The first records of Pag lace date back to 15th century and the way of making and patterns were passed down from generation to generation.
Pag lace is nowadays listed as the intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia has declared the collection of Pag lace collected and preserved by the Benedictine nuns of Pag for more than 150 years a cultural heritage of Croatia.
From the economic point of view, the symbol of the town is the production of salt. The quality salt is produced here for centuries.
Your stay in the town of Pag is an opportunity for excursions to some of the largest Croatian national parks located nearby. The Kornati National Park is an archipelago of small islands and reefs of breathtaking beauty. On the mainland, but not too far away, are the famous Plitvice Lakes. There are also the Krka National Park, the National Park Paklenica and Northern Velebit National Park, and on the island of Pag there are two ornithological reserve Velo and Malo Blato.
The largest sand beach close to the historic center is Prosika, and the Bay of Pag has 27 km of sand, gravel and stone beaches, among which the most famous and the most beautiful are Zrće, Janjeće Vode, Beritnica, Sveti Duh, Sveti Marko, Dubrava, Bošana, Caska, Ručica, Salty, Malin, Veliki Zaton, Bijele Stijene, Veli Bok, Mali Bok and Kotica.
There are many more things to talk about, like a gastronomy for example (Pag's cheese, lamb, olive oil etc.) but we will elaborate that topic very soon...
Hope you like it guys and hope we will see each other at this beautiful island! Till next time!