Theme Week Croatian Adriatic Coast – Korčula Town
Wednesday, 25 May 2016 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union General
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© Cord Walter/cc-by-sa-3.0
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Korčula is a historic fortified town on the protected east coast of the island of
Korčula . The old city is surrounded by walls, and the streets are arranged in a herringbone pattern allowing free circulation of air but protecting against strong winds.
Korčula is tightly built on a promontory that guards the narrow sound between the island and the mainland. Building outside the walls was forbidden until the 18th century, and the wooden drawbridge was only replaced in 1863. All of Korčula’s narrow streets are stepped with the notable exception of the street running alongside the southeastern wall. The street is called the Street of Thoughts as one did not have to worry about the steps.
Old town and harbor © Cosal/cc-by-sa-4.0
The town’s historic sites include the central
Romanesque –
Gothic Cathedral of St Mark (built from 1301 to 1806), the 15th-century
Franciscan monastery with a beautiful
Venetian Gothic cloister, the civic council chambers, the palace of the former
Venetian governors, grand 15th- and 16th-century palaces of the local merchant nobles, and the massive city fortifications. The devout Catholic inhabitants of Korčula keep alive old folk church ceremonies and a
weapon dance , the
Moreška , which dates back to the Middle Ages. Originally danced only on special occasions, in modern times there are performances twice a week for tourists.
Korčula, like other islands and many coastal cities in
Dalmatia , displays a
Croatian culture which developed from the late
Roman era to the emergence of the modern Croatian state. Until the late 19th century, people identifying as Italians formed part of the population of Korčula town while the rest of the island was almost completely inhabited by people identifying as Croatians. However, historically the distinction was often ambiguous and local identity (eg
di Curzola, Dalmata ) usually took precedence over these fixed categories. The island therefore possesses a distinct Mediterranean cultural personality which sets it apart from the mountainous hinterland and continental Croatia further north. The town is esteemed for being the possible birth town of the famous Venetian merchant,
Marco Polo , who was born around 1254. This is based on written evidence that Marco’s family originated in Dalmatia and then settled in Venice, and that the Depolo surname, which has existed in Korčula at least from the 13th century, is linked to his family.
Here you can find the complete
Overview of all Theme Weeks .
Read more on
City of Korčula ,
Korčula Tourism ,
KorčulaInfo.com ,
Wikivoyage Korčula and
Wikipedia Korčula Town . Learn more about the
use of photos . To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (
Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State -
Weather report by weather.com -
Global Passport Power Rank -
Travel Risk Map -
Democracy Index -
GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank -
Global Competitiveness Report -
Corruption Perceptions Index -
Press Freedom Index -
World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index -
UN Human Development Index -
Global Peace Index -
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at
comment@wingsch.net . Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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