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The village of Sumartin, island of Brač in Croatia

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PresentationPresentation

General presentationGeneral information
The port. Click to enlarge the image.Sumartin is a small port, approximately 600 inhabitants, located at the point is island of Brač in Croatia.

The village is the most recent locality of the island; it was founded in 1646 by refugees of Makarska fleeing the Turkish invasions. This is why the inhabitants of Sumartin and its surroundings speak the dialect chtokavien (štokavski), the principal Croatian dialect, while the remainder of the island speaks the dialect tchakavien (čakavski), the dialect spoken in north about Croatia. The village also was insulated, because of bad communications with the remainder of the island, and developed a mentality and slightly different vestimentary modes a long time.

Sumartin is a relatively calm and peaceful vacation resort, which becomes animated only on arrival of the ferry of Makarska.

The village of Sumartin belongs administratively to the commune of Selca in the county of Split-Dalmatia.

EtymologyEtymology
In a deep past (1320), the bay of Sumartin named Sitno, according to the plant “siti”, the maritime snap ring (Joncus maritimus) which strews the wet ground with the surroundings.

Later, the locality named Vrh Brača (is of Brać), where vrh means is, because of its situation on the island of Brać.

The name of Saint Martin was given to the church of the village by the first inhabitants, in tribute to saint Martin de Tours. At the end of the 19th century, the name of Sumartin was given to the village by imitation of other localities of the island, such as Supetar (Saint Peter) or Sutivan (Saint John).

At the time Venetian, Sumartin named San Martino in Italian.

SituationSituation

The entry of the port. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).Sumartin is located at the bottom of the one of bays of the south-eastern coast of the island of Brać, vis-a-vis will riviera of Makarska.

The port is protected from the winds of north by the course Sumartin (Rt Sumartin).

The course Sumartin. Click to enlarge the image.

VisitsVisits

The Church Saint Martin
The church Saint-Martin of origin was built in 1747 by the famous Dalmatian poet, the brother Andrija Kačić Miošić, when it was named abbot of the monastery.

The current parish church was built of 1911 to 1913 and was devoted to saint Martin before the First World War. The marble furnace bridges were carried out and decorated with mosaics by P. Bilinic in 1912. The tombs around the church point out the disastrous plague of 1783-1784 which made perish most of the population.

The bell-tower of the church was destroyed in 1944 in the bombardment of the city by the Anglo-American ones; the church was rebuilt and increased in 1955.

The Franciscan Monastery
The monastery franciscain (author Ante Perkovic). Click to enlarge the image.The Franciscan ones arrived at Sumartin in 1645; their community became very active starting from 1738 and obtained the statute of monastery. In 1747, the brother and poet Andrija Kačić Miošić were elected abbot of Sumartin and undertook the construction of a new monastery.

The church Saint Martin's day (Kelovy author). Click to enlarge the image.The monastery, masked by a thick vegetation, with its modest gardens and kitchen gardens, releases a pleasant atmosphere; its museum has an interesting collection of rare, handwritten books and works of art of 17th and 18th centuries (Venetian school), in particular a “Last Holy Communion” of the beginning of the baroque (second half of the 17th century).

Outside, a plate testifies that in 1944 the monastery was requisitioned by the Germans to be used as hospital and the monks were forced to leave it.

The Church Saint Nicholas (Crkva Svetog Nikole)
The early Christian church Saint Nicholas (Sveti Nikola) built on the top the Kruska height offers a spectacular sight on the landscape surrounding and the sea.
Beaches
The course Sumartin (author Honza Beran). Click to enlarge the image.In the immediate surroundings of Sumartin are some quiet and intimate splits (Rasotica, Zukovik, Radonja, Studena, Zvirje and Spilice) with sand beaches and of gravel.
The Port
The entry of the port. Click to enlarge the image.The entry of the port. Click to enlarge the image.The entry of the port. Click to enlarge the image.

History and traditionsHistory, literature, arts, traditions, legends, religions, myths, symbols…

HistoryHistory
The territory of the current locality of Sumartin belonged to 12th and 13th centuries to the important abbey of Povlja.

The village of Sumartin was founded on November 11th, 1646 by refugees coming from the back-country of Makarska, Bosnia and Herzegovina fleeing in front of the projection of the Othoman Turks (time of the War of Crete between Vénitiens and Turks). The refugees were led by the Franciscan monks already established close to this bay called Sitno. The new arrivals could not obtain from grounds to cultivate, already all occupied, and had to turn to fishing, navigation and naval construction.

CharactersCharacters
Most famous of the emigrants of Sumartin towards the United States east certainly Mario Puratić. This one invented in 1955 the “Puratic block” or “power block” which facilitates the work of the fishermen to raise the fishing nets. Mario Puratić received in the United States the prize of the Inventor of the year in 1975.
EconomyEconomy
The economic main activities of Sumartin are agriculture, the viticulture, oleiculture, fishing and tourism, still little developed.

The shipyard of Sumartin is one of the last in the Adriatic to continue the traditional construction of ships out of wooden.

InformationPractical information

Weather and forecasts
Transport
The port (Kelovy author). Click to enlarge the image.Thanks to its port of ferries, Sumartin is, besides Supetar and of Bol, one of the three maritime access doors to the island of Brać.

Jadrolinija (www.jadrolinija.hr) ensures 5 passages per day between Makarska and Sumartin in July and August; 4 passages in June and September; 50 min of crossing.

Telephone: 00,385 (0) 21,648,224

Schedules of the ferries Makarska-Sumartin. Click to enlarge the image.

Visiting timesVisiting times
HotelsHotels
RestaurantsRestaurants
Thanks to the important fishing fleet of Sumartin, the local restaurants can serve as fresh fish the every day. Other local specialities are the meat of lamb, the cheeses, honey and the wine.

Other topicsOther topics

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The village of Novo Selo, island of Brač in Croatia
The village of Povlja, island of Brač in Croatia
The village of Sumartin, island of Brač in Croatia
Broader topics
Croatia
Interactive map of the island of Brać in Croatia
The town of Supetar, island of Brač in Croatia
The town of Postira, island of Brač in Croatia
The town of Pučišća, island of Brač in Croatia
The town of Selca, island of Brač in Croatia
The town of Bol, island of Brač in Croatia
The town of Nerežišća, island of Brač in Croatia
The town of Milna, island of Brač in Croatia
The town of Sutivan, island of Brač in Croatia
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