They are the pride of Central Dalmatia, and one of the region’s most popular attractions.
The beaches of the Makarska Riviera, beach and sun heaven for more than a million tourists wach summer.
But how do the beaches look in the dead of night when all those tourists are sleeping soundly?
A wonderful timelapse of Makarska beaches at night, compiled over many weeks and tens of thousands of photos. And the end result – spectacular!
Split is one of the greatest sporting cities in the world. It is said that there are more Olympic medal winners there per capita than anywhere else in the world. It is the only place the Oxford and Cambridge rowing teams take part in an annual competitive race (with local Gusar rowing club at the Sv. Duje celebrations), and it is, of course, the home town of THAT tennis player, Wimbledon champion, Goran Ivanisevic.
It is perhaps fitting then that Split will play host to the tennis starts of Croatia and the USA, as the Davis Cup semi-finals will be held in Split from September 14 to 16.
All the necessary infrastructure will be built for the occasion on Znjan beach, and there will be spectator capacity of some 6,000 people. The courts will be made of clay.
An exciting addition for Split’s sporting credentials, and the event looks set to be a sell-out as locals will be roaring on their heroes to reach the Davis Cup Final.
Central Dalmatia has a long and proud tourist tradition, but did you know that it was also the birthplace of organised tourism in all Europe, whose 150th anniversary was celebrated last month on the island of Hvar? A little of the history…
With the founding of the Hvar Health Society on May 15, 1868, the first organised tourism in Europe came into being, tourism based on health and recuperation, rather than historical sites. While individual travel had a long tradition among the upper classes, the first organised tourist association in France only came into existence in Cannes in 1907 (Syndicat d’Initiative). The birth of organised tourism in Europe was announced as follows:
Having surrendered Venice, in all its vast dominions Austria does not have a single place on the coast suitable for people with chest illnesses to stay during the winter season, despite the fact that there are several such places in Istria and Dalmatia.
After due consideration, and with the approval of the most capable doctors and excellent naturalists, it has been established that nowhere is better than Hvar for those with chest illnesses. With its location, the particular nature of the town and the special features of its climate, it can not only rival Venice, Pisa, Nice and so on, but can often outshine them.
Guided by these reasons, and inspired by patriotism and humanity, in the belief that we can offer people from Austria and Northern Germany a superior and more accessible resort, we are establishing in Hvar, Dalmatia, a joint stock company called the Health Society in Hvar.
The aim of the Health Society is to provide everything needed for visitors to have a pleasant stay in this town, so that their sufferings are eased and their diseased lungs can benefit from our mild climate and health-giving air.
For this purpose, the Society will have at its disposal comfortable accommodation for visitors, providing all services, and sparing no effort to fulfil all their desires.
By October several houses will be ready and equipped for this purpose.
Hvar, 15th May 1868.
The first hotel for the new society was a private house on the main square in Hvar Town, owned by the Samohod-Duboković family, which opened for business on October 15, 1868, after a full renovation. The new hotel had 13 single rooms with heating and a restaurant, and was staffed by a cook, two waiters and a chambermaid from Trieste.
Funds for a more expansive hotel were sought but progress was slow and the temporary hotel was moved to the former military building on the Fabrika in 1872, with private accommodation fulfilling any shortfall in beds.
The Hvar Health Society petitioned the Court in Vienna for financial support to build a proper hotel, asking that the Empress Elizabeth become patron of the new hotel, allowing it to bear her name. She agreed and the first royal donation was made in 1869 with this reply:
To the honourable Management of the Health Society in Hvar, Dalmatia
Her Majesty the Empress and Queen has very generously decided to accept patronage of your Health Society, based in Hvar, and to allow the Clinic built by this Society to bear the name “Stabilimento igienico imperatrice Elisabetta” (The Empress Elizabeth Institution of Health). As a mark of her most gracious acknowledgement of the worthy aim of the aforementioned Institution, it is her pleasure to grant a gift for it of 200 florins from her Royal Highness’ personal funds.
As it is my honour to inform the honourable Management of the Health Society in Hvar of the glad news of Her Majesty’s decision relating to the request of the 20th of last month, and to pass on the above-mentioned generously approved sum, I ask you kindly to sign and return the enclosed confirmation of receipt of the same.
Gödöllö, 10th November 1869
B. Napcsa, on behalf of Her Majesty
Construction of the new hotel, where the ruins of the former Ducal Palace once stood, was slow, from plans drawn up in 1880 to completion of the first part of the building in 1898 and formally opened on April 1, 1899.
The fully completed Kur Hotel Kaiserin Elizabeth opened in 1903, furnished from Trieste and boasting 35 beds, bathrooms, a reading room, restaurant and coffee-house in the old loggia.
Some of the hotel’s rules, included in the 1905 rulebook (printed in Croatian, Italian and German), required guests to be clean and tidy, not to smoke at lunch, play dangerous games inside the hotel, bring in animals or hang washing outside
The Society’s early efforts were both impressive and successful, with Hvar becoming known as the Austrian Madeira. The majority of guests were German, Austrian, Czech, Hungarian and Croatian, enticed to Dalmatia by some excellent tourism promotion by the Hvar Health Society.
In addition to the various leaflets, notices and reviews in Austrian journals, the first guide to Hvar, in German, was printed in Trieste in 1899, followed by a second with photographs in 1903. Things to do on Hvar included night fishing, bowling, the shooting range, concerts and music on the hotel’s terrace, and the art collection at the Franciscan Monastery.
The tourism boom inspired others to jump on the bandwagon and the privately-owned Hotel Kovacic opened in 1914 on the waterfront, as did the Palmizana Manor House on the Pakleni Islands in 1906.
The financial dividends of successful tourism were somewhat reinvested in the town, and there were major improvements in this period, including fixing the promenades to the Franciscan Monastery and Majerovia Bay. Improvements were also made to the town’s bathing beach, changing huts and tennis courts, trees were planted and ferry connections improved.
The most high profile visitor to Hvar in the early years was Emperor Franz Joseph I himself, who sailed in for a night in 1875, to be greeted with a spectacular reception, including fireworks, leading him to address the people of the town:
Thank you for the heartfelt welcome organized by this historic town. I have always believed in the sincere and patriotic feelings of these people, and I guarantee them my Imperial mercy and benevolence.’
After a successful start, the Society’s fortunes changed after 1910 and a combination of constant debts and the First World War led to the sale of the hotel to the owner of Hotel Royal in Zagreb in 1918.
The Scandinavian love affair of Central Dalmatia continues…
The last decade has seen a sharp increase in tourist arrivals from Scandinavia, initially from Norway with the strong connections coming from Norwegian Air, but soon followed by other Scandinavian countries. Other airlines followed suit, and SAS will have some 80 flights a week to Split this summer.
The 2018 season has started strongly, and we caught up with Central Dalmatia Tourist Board director, Josko Stella, for an early progress report. It seems the Swedes are liking what they see…
“Strong growth has been recorded. Specifically, for the first three months, we had 25% more overnights, which is 10,000 more overnights. We are talking about 270,000 overnight stays in total. These are not huge figures, but the percentage increase is large. The largest increase we have seen in guests from Scandinavia, and especially Sweden, where the number of tourists has increased by 700%! People from these countries have realized that the summer comes a lot earlier here, took advantage of the opportunity, good prices and good discounts, and came.
“It is a trend that will continue in the years ahead of us, and people from Western and Northern Europe will be coming to Dalmatia more and more. We are encouraging activities to attract them. For example, cycling tourism is one of those activities we are intensively working on. In addition to having the largest number of marked trails, we have two world fairs, we had the Tour of Croatia, we had the Bahrain Merida training on Hvar … The results show that the number of cycling journalists increased by 200 to 300 percent in relation to last year in Croatia,” Stella said
If there is one thing that is guaranteed this summer, it is that things will be very busy, as Central Dalmatia prepares for its busiest season ever. More than 3 million people are expected to pass through the Split Airport terminal alone, a record for the Dalmatian airport which will unveil its newly expanded terminal in July 2019.
Getting organised and finding the appropriate information on arrival are important things if you want to get your holiday off to the right start. Ferry information, bus timetables, the best destinations to visit – all these things confront passengers once they have negotiated their luggage.
Of course, some tourists will be more organised than others, but the Central Dalmatia Tourist Board is on hand to help out with all initial questions and advice. Since 2015, the tourist board has maintained a presence at the airport, in the form of an information booth. Here you can find all the latest ferry timetables, plenty of brochures of all the top (and hidden) destinations in Central Dalmatia, and a whole lot more. Our friendly staff are standing by to give you a warm welcome and help you get your amazing Central Dalmatian holiday off to the perfect start!