Sights on the island of Brač

From the 778 m high summit of the Vidova Gora one does indeed survey the surrounding islands and, in good visibility, distant coasts as well, yet to this day nobody has an overview of the significance of this place for the earlier population. Some claim that witches held their seances here at full moon and brewed magic potions from the herbs of the maquis. In favour of this speaks the fact that the karst caves one sees in the direction of Nerezisca are supposedly connected with the witches' bay of Vicja Luka. Others assume that the summit was a sacred place and that the ruins located here once represented the temples of the gods Sventovit and Svevid. Be that as it may: the only thing that can still frighten today's visitors are the gusts of wind lurking behind bends in the road, which are likely to please only well-prepared hang-gliders. The view, which can reach from Italy to Hvar but always reveals the sight of the golden horn, idyllic pastures and a radar station, has enchanted everyone so far - quite without occult magic!

Brač's most beautiful and most exciting beach is the golden horn, which - except in the morning and evening sun - shines rather white. It is a gravelly spit of land extending out of a pine forest into the sea, permanently changing its shape on account of the currents and tides. Sometimes the tip points to the left, sometimes to the right; on some days the beach is broader, then longer again. So anyone trying to arrange to meet here would do better to go by the fixed points on land than by the coastline!

In the island's interior, surrounded by wild-growing nature, lies the Blaca hermitage. The monastery was originally founded by monks fleeing from the Turks, so it was very important that the complex not be recognisable from the sea. Since the beginning of the 20th century the monastery has been converted into an observatory and today also serves as a museum. Here one can follow the history of the building and of the father and astronomer Nikola Miličević, after whom an asteroid was named in 2005 in recognition of his studies.

When the first Dalmatian stonemasons founded a cooperative in the year 1902, the need for well-trained young stonemasons rose steeply. So it was decided to set up a corresponding school in Pučišća on Brač. The reputation of the people of Brač as talented craftsmen and the proximity to the famous marble quarries caused the choice to fall on this place. The Klesarska škola is to this day the only stonemasonry school in Croatia and can be visited by interested visitors and prospective trainees.

The archaeologically and ethnologically oriented museum in Škrip works through the history of Brač's settlement: starting with the clay vessels and ceramics of the ancient Greeks, through a collection of the tools of fishermen and winegrowers, to selected works by local sculptors and stonemasons, one can trace the transformation of island society by means of these artefacts. The museum is bounded by the megalithic wall, which encloses an area of 0.8 hectares on which several places of worship also stand and which originally protected the Illyrian settlement. Most of the objects on display are thus presented almost at the very place where they were found, and anyone visiting the museum may, at the sight of the exhibits, wonder what treasures may still lie in the ground beyond them.

Seven kilometres west of Bol, 200 m above Murvica, lies the dragon cave, whose walls are adorned with reliefs describing the life of priests in the Middle Ages. They lived in caves like this one and spent their free time creating sculptures in which they report to posterity about their everyday life while also giving creativity free rein. Thus the cave Zmajeva spilja got its name from the impressive dragon relief. In order to preserve the cultural treasures here for as long as possible, access is permitted only with a guide and possible on foot alone.

Two bays, a natural harbour and numerous sights such as the Cerinić family's castle and the church of Saint Mary make Milna as fine a place for an excursion as for a holiday. The two districts of Zalo and Pantera shine through their Baroque architecture, and if the rumour mill is to be believed, some fish leap voluntarily out of the crystal-clear water into the pans of the harbour restaurants - such is the good reputation of the cooks here.

In the middle of the island the village of Nerežišća is enthroned at 382 metres above sea level. The former administrative seat of the Venetians is today enlivened by only 700 inhabitants - and by the tourists arriving regularly. Particular highlights are the prince's court, where the doges once stayed, the imposing Sveti Marija with its pointed-hood roof visible from afar, and Sveti Petar, preserved in its original form since the 14th century.

Even those who do not happen to be stonemasons may have heard of Pučišća: the village on Brač's north coast is known not only for maintaining the region's only, first and last stonemasonry school and for being surrounded by mountains of the finest marble, but also for the works of art that old masters created from precisely this material for the townscape. Away from all that, one finds equally perfect beaches and numerous sporting options.

The island's oldest village is itself already almost a museum of island history, and accordingly the official exhibition is housed here too, in the Radojković family's house. It tells of the era when the inhabitants still had to earn their living as pirates, right up to the present day, in which tourism and agriculture alike secure the simple prosperity of the 189 inhabitants.