Postira

Nowhere on the island of Brac does one become more clearly aware of the swift passage of time than in Postira. Where formerly people still feared for the year's harvest on small patches of arable land during a thunderstorm, the glittering facades of high-tech greenhouses now stand. In between stand houses from the (good?) old days, built close up against one another, with the obligatory village church in their midst. This was, however, completely renovated, so that apart from the outer walls nothing recalls the building of the 16th century any more. Far more authentic is the basilica in the east of Postira: it has stood in this form since the 6th century and was, from the 11th century onwards, briefly converted into a Benedictine convent. The monks probably sought seclusion here, for the place Postira, which today counts 1,000 inhabitants, was first mentioned in 1347. With its cosy, world-averted town architecture and the sunny, open harbour basin, this town seems to have had a particularly inspiring effect on the more sensitive of its citizens. For all of three artists born here are still valued and revered today: the contemporary poet, freedom fighter and politician Vladimir Nazor, the poet Ivanisevic and the sculptor Lazanic, who lived and worked in the 16th and 17th centuries.