Elaphiti Islands

Elaphiti Islands
Native name: Elafitski otoci
	View from Sutvrač Fort in Lopud
Geography
Location	Adriatic Sea
Archipelago	Elaphiti Islands
Total islands	13
Major islands	Šipan, Lopud, Koločep
Area	30 km2 (12 sq mi)
Administration
	Croatia
County	Dubrovnik-Neretva
Largest settlement	Šipan (pop. 419)
Demographics
Population	850

Last updated November 09, 2024

The Elaphiti Islands or the Elaphites (Croatian : Elafitski otoci or Elafiti) is a small archipelago consisting of several islands stretching northwest of Dubrovnik, in the Adriatic Sea.^[1] The Elaphites have a total land area of around 30 square kilometres (12 square miles)^[2] and a population of 850 inhabitants. The islands are covered with characteristic Mediterranean evergreen vegetation and attract large numbers of tourists during the summer tourist season due to their beaches and pristine scenery.

Roman author Pliny the Elder was the first to mention the islands by the name Elaphiti Islands (Croatian : Jelenski otoci or Deer Archipelago) in his work Naturalis Historia , published in the 1st century. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word for deer (Doric: ἔλαφος; élaphos), which, according to Pliny the Elder, used to inhabit the islands in large numbers. ^[2] There is, however, no evidence of deer ever inhabiting the archipelago.^[3]

Islands

Sources differ on the exact number of the Elaphiti Islands. According to a more recent classification, there are 13 islands in the archipelago, among them 8 larger (Olipa, Tajan, Jakljan, Šipan, Ruda, Lopud, Koločep and Daksa) and 5 smaller ones (Sveti Andrija, Mišnjak, Kosmeč, Goleč and Crkvine).^[2]

Main islands

Only the three main islands are permanently inhabited, each of which supports a modest tourist industry. They are connected with the mainland via daily ferry lines operated out of Dubrovnik.

Šipan – the farthest and largest island in terms of area (15.8 km²) and population of 419 inhabitants. It also has two settlements, Šipanska Luka and Suđurađ, both served by Jadrolinija ferry lines.
Lopud – the second by size and, it is located between Šipan and Koločep islands. It's well developed in terms of tourism infrastructure, including the Lafodia hotel in the town of Lopud.
Koločep – the closest island to Dubrovnik, located 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the Dubrovnik harbour at Gruž. It used to be an important shipbuilding site in the Republic of Ragusa period. It is one of the most indented and the southernmost permanently inhabited Croatian island with a population of 163 inhabitants. It has seven pre-Romanesque churches dating from the 9th to the 11th century.

Other notable islands

Crkvina – Uninhabited islet.
Daksa – Uninhabited islet. It used to be home to a 13th-century Franciscan monastery of Saint Sabina, which was abandoned at the time of Napoleon's conquest in the early 19th century. Later, it became infamous as the site of the Daksa massacre, in which the partisans had executed 48 prominent citizens of Dubrovnik in October 1944.
Goleč – Uninhabited islet.
Jakljan – It has children’s rest and a recreation center.
Kosmeč – Uninhabited islet.
Mišnjak – Uninhabited islet.
Olipa – The westernmost of the Elaphiti islands. It has a lighthouse located on its southern part.
Ruda – Uninhabited islet.
Sveti Andrija – Uninhabited rocky island with a rich fauna, has the status of a bird reserve. The island has a lighthouse, which the Austro-Hungarian government had built in 1873.
Tajan – Uninhabited islet.

Greater Dubrovnik island

Lokrum – sometimes considered part of the Elaphites.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lopud</span> Small island off the coast of Dalmatia, southern Croatia

Lopud is a small island off the coast of Dalmatia, southern Croatia. Lopud is economically the most developed of the Elaphiti Islands, and can be reached by boat from Dubrovnik, Trsteno, Orašac and Zaton. The island is famous for its sandy beaches, in particular the bay of Šunj. Lopud is the second largest island of the Elaphiti islands, between Koločep and Šipan. It is famous as the "island in the middle". It has an area of 4.63 square kilometres and its highest point is Polačica, 216 metres above sea level. It has 11.5 km (7 mi) of coastline, of which 1.2 km (1 mi) is sandy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koločep</span> Island in Croatia

Koločep is one of the three inhabited Elaphiti Islands situated near the city of Dubrovnik with an area of 2.44 square kilometres. Koločep is the southernmost inhabited island in Croatia. According to the 2021 census, its population was 231. In the 2011 census, the population of the island was 163.

Šipan, nicknamed the Golden Island, is an island located in southern Croatia, more specifically in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County. It is located 17 km (11 mi) northwest of Dubrovnik, and is separated from the mainland coast by the Koločep Channel, which has an area of 16.22 km² (6.3 sq mi). The island is 9.1 km (5.7 mi) in length, and up to 2.6 km (1.6 mi) in width. It is a part of the Elaphiti Islands, and is the largest island in the archipelago. The name of the archipelago comes from the Ancient Greek word for deer, which, according to Pliny the Elder, used to inhabit the Elaphiti Islands in large numbers. There is, however, no evidence of deer ever inhabiting the archipelago.

Sveti Andrija is an island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. It is part of the Elaphiti Islands archipelago, Dalmatia and is situated 6 nautical miles (11 km) from Dubrovnik, 3 nautical miles (6 km) from Koločep, 2 nautical miles (4 km) from Lopud and 4 nautical miles (7 km) from Šipan. The island is 475 metres long, and its maximal width is 130 metres, while its coastline is 1,130 m (3,710 ft) long. The total area of the island is 53,757 square metres, with a maximum height elevation of 57 m (187 ft) above sea level.

Sveti Andrija, often called Svetac, is an island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea.

Palagruža is a small Croatian archipelago in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. It is uninhabited, except by lighthouse staff and occasional summer tourists. Palagruža can be reached only by a chartered motorboat, requiring a journey of several hours from nearby islands like Lastovo, Korčula, or Vis. It is administratively part of the municipality of Komiža.

Brusnik is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. The island is part of the Dalmatian archipelago.

Crkvina is an uninhabited islet in Croatia, part of the Elaphiti Islands archipelago off the coast of southern Dalmatia, near Dubrovnik. Its coastline is 1.5 km (0.93 mi) long.

Kosmeč is an uninhabited islet in Croatia, part of the Elaphiti Islands archipelago off the coast of southern Dalmatia, near Dubrovnik. Its area is 0.024 km² and its coastline is 0.57 km long.

Mišnjak is the name of several uninhabited islets in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea:

Mišnjak is an uninhabited islet in Croatia, part of the Elaphiti Islands archipelago off the coast of southern Dalmatia, near Dubrovnik. Its area is 2.5 hectares and its coastline is 0.64 kilometres (0.40 mi) long.

Ruda is an uninhabited islet in Croatia, part of the Elaphiti Islands archipelago off the coast of southern Dalmatia, near Dubrovnik. It is located between the islands of Lopud and Šipan. Its area is 0.296 km² and its coastline is 2.37 km long. The highest point on Ruda is 81 m high.

Tajan is an uninhabited islet in Croatia, part of the Elaphiti Islands archipelago off the coast of southern Dalmatia, near Dubrovnik. It is located near the island of Jakljan. Its area is 0.111 km² and its coastline is 1.41 km long.

Olipa is an uninhabited islet in Croatia, part of the Elaphiti Islands archipelago off the coast of southern Dalmatia. It is the westernmost isle in the Elaphites. Olipa is mostly rocky and partially covered in forest. A stone square tower is located on the south side of the isle, which serves as a lighthouse. The lighthouse is used for maritime routes passing through the passages of Veliki Vratnik and Mali Vratnik.

Jakljan is an uninhabited islet in Croatia, part of the Elaphiti Islands archipelago off the coast of southern Dalmatia. It is located northwest of Dubrovnik and west of the island of Šipan. Its area is 3.4 km² and its coastline is 14.6 km long. A children's resort and recreational center is located on the island.

Prvić is an uninhabited island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea, located in the Kvarner Gulf. It is the largest of the so-called Senj Islands, a group of small islands and islets located off the coast of the mainland city of Senj, lying between the larger islands of Krk and Rab. Other significant islands in the Senj group are Sveti Grgur and Goli Otok, along with a number of islets and rocks, which are all uninhabited. Prvić has an area is 12.76 square kilometres (4.93 sq mi), which makes it the largest uninhabited Croatian island and 30th largest overall.

Goleč is an uninhabited islet in Croatia, part of the Elaphiti Islands archipelago off the coast of southern Dalmatia, near Dubrovnik. The total area of the island is 0.1 km² (0.039 sq mi).

References

↑ The Rough Guide to Croatia:Elaphiti Islands by Jonathan Bousfield
1 2 3 Glamuzina & Glamuzina 1999, p. 89.
↑ Glamuzina & Glamuzina 1999, p. 91.

Bibliography

Glamuzina, Martin; Glamuzina, Nikola (1999). "Suvremena geografska problematika otoka Lopuda i Koločepa" [Recent Geographical Problematics of the Lopud and Koločep Islands](PDF). Geoadria (in Croatian). 4 (1): 89–100. doi: 10.15291/geoadria.152 . Retrieved 25 December 2019.

External links

Media related to Elaphiti Islands at Wikimedia Commons
Map including the Elaphiti Islands

42°43′0.12″N17°53′35.97″E / 42.7167000°N 17.8933250°E / 42.7167000; 17.8933250

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[1] The Rough Guide to Croatia:Elaphiti Islands by Jonathan Bousfield

[FOOTNOTEGlamuzinaGlamuzina199989-2] 1 2 3 Glamuzina & Glamuzina 1999, p. 89.

[FOOTNOTEGlamuzinaGlamuzina199991-3] Glamuzina & Glamuzina 1999, p. 91.

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