Town Omisalj

The first town on Krk after the Krk Bridge is Omišalj. This is also the closest Krk harbour if you head for the island by boat from Rijeka, while Rijeka airport is hard by. The small town centre is located on a little elevation of 85 m, at the head of the picturesque Bay of Omišalj. The mean annual temperature is 14°C, July being the hottest month and the coldest November and December. In summer the sea temperature is up to 26°C, while there are more than 2,000 hours of sunshine a year.

The three kilometre long bay is ideal for sports training and for holding rowing and sailing regattas. For a number of years it has been host to the traditional Bodul Regatta. For recreation there are tennis courts, mini-golf links, table tennis facilities and so on. Confectioners, coffee bars, dance terraces, night clubs and disco clubs provide evening entertainment.

Omišalj was mentioned in the 12th century in Latin as “Castri musculi”, and probably got its name from “a musclu” or place for shell fish. In the 15th century Duke Ivan VII built a tower which was then the only one on Krk.

In addition Omišalj has been an important centre of literary culture and Glagolitic writing since the 11th century; the first written memorials spring from the 12th century. The oldest cultural and historical monument is the Parish Church of the Assumption of the BVM, which is considered to have been built in its original form in the 12th century.  The front elevation with its rose window and Glagolitic inscriptions was built in the 15th century.The altar with a wooden triptych is the work of the Venetian painter Jacobello del Fiore, 15th century.

The oldest preserved Glagolitic missal of the 14th century also derives from Omišalj, though today it is in the Vatican library. A ceremony is linked with the church that is celebrated on August 16, the day after the feast of the Assumption. Young men and girls dance in it. The night before the dance the young men erect a pole in the  city square, with a bride’s crown on the top. The pole is fastened with ropes, and kerchiefs, grapes, pears and figs are bound on to these ropes, all symbolizing the celebration of the first fruits.  

Cultural and historical monuments

• The Romanesque parish church of the Assumption, of the 12th century, with the original presbytery of an older church.
• A beautiful rosette made by the  master craftsman Sinoga ornamentation, reliefs, the bell-tower wooden triptych of Jacobello del Fiore (15th c.), chapel of  St Jelena (15th c.), city loggia of the 16th c.
• a lot of Glagolitic documents

Tourist destination - Croatia - Primorje - Destinations Kvarner