Island Hvar
The longest island on the Adriatic (68 kilometers long), with the area of 229.7 sq. kilometers and the highest altitude of 628 meters. It has 12,000 inhabitants in 27 settlements. Hvar is located between the islands of Brač, Vis, and Korčula, the peninsula Pelješac, and the seaside of Makarska. In front of the western part of the southern coast of the island are Pakleni otoci (the Hell Islands), and in front of the central part of Hvar is the island of Šćedro. The fertile Velo polje is also on the island. The northern coast is much more indented than the southern. The climate is gentle, Mediterranean, with the longest insolation in the country (2,718 hours of sun per year). The largest number of settlements developed around Velo polje. The larger settlements lie on the coast: Hvar, Stari Grad, Jelsa, Vrbovsko. The most important branches of economy are tourism, agriculture (vineyards, olive-groves, figs, rosemary, lavender), cattle-farming, and fishing. The settlements on the island are connected by the road net, and the island has two ferryboat connections with the mainland: Sućuraj-Drvenik, and Stari Grad-Split.
The island has been inhabited since the early Neolithic (cave: Grapčeva, Pokrivenik, and Markova). The Greeks founded their colony Pharos on the island of Hvar in 358 B.C. Around 235 B.C. the island became the part of the Illyrian state under the king Agron, and later it was conquered by Romans.
Today, the island of Hvar with the town of Hvar and other settlements is one of the most developed and most famous tourist sites and resorts in Croatia.
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