Omišalj is located in the north-western part of the island and is the first island town after crossing the Krk Bridge. The historic town centre is situated on a cliff 85 meters high and dominates this part of Kvarner. With the town of Krk, Omišalj is the oldest living town on the island with a tourist tradition more than 100 years old.
Around 1000 B.C. the Illyrians lived in Omišalj, then the Romans, and in the 7th century the Croats arrived. In the 11th century Omišalj was an important centre of Glagolism and literacy, and in the 12th century it was referred to as Castri musculi (from the Latin Ad musculi – the place of shells), while in the 15th century the Frankopan family, lords of Krk, built one of their four castles in Omišalj. Because of this Omišalj today rightly bears the title of the town-monument.
Cultural and architectural heritage of Omišalj is extremely rich. This fact is confirmed by the remains of a Roman town Fulfinum dated to the 1st century AD, an early Christian basilica Mirine dated to the 5th century, and many other historical monuments.
By its “offer” of monuments Omišalj exceeds many of its better known island neighbours, and in some categories it is even unique in Kvarner. Omišalj is particularly abundant in more than a thousand-year-old early medieval relief which are numerous in coastal regions of Croatia, and in a small Omišalj there are more of these reliefs.
Omišalj is place of Benedictine heritage, with Saint Nicholas monastery built in 1252, where the monks used Glagolitic script, the ancient Croatian script for which island of Krk is especially known. Breviars, such as those of Mikula Brozić, were written on this northernmost point of the island, inspired centuries of priests and laics, giving Krk a name of very pious island.
To learn more about life here, it is an excellent idea to visit the Memorial house of Krk folklore. Here you can see the most valuable exponents of Krk folklore, most visibly the folk costumes of Omišalj. Next to it are jewellery, music instruments, and other utensils. Everything is followed by audiovisual content about the Krk traditional music.
Learn more about this destination:
Municipality tourist board Omišalj Ribarska obala 10, 51512 Njivice, Hrvatska tel: +385 51 846 243, +385 51 846 735 fax: +385 51 847 662 e-mail: tzo-njivice@ri.t-com.hr http://www.tz-njivice-omisalj.hr