Stari Grad

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General

The city of Stari Grad is on the Hvar Island, about 40 km south of Split in the Split-Dalmatia County. It has under 3,000 inhabtants, less then 2,000 in the city itself. It should not be confuzed with Starigrad (Paklenica) in the Zadar county and an other Starigrad near Koprivnica, and therefore it is often referd to as "Stari Grad na Hvaru". Untill 1997 it had the community status. The fields used to provide sustenance and the bay provided protection. Today, both the fields and the bay add an attractive quality to the old heart of the island, in which the modern vacation sights have become intertwined with the antiquities of the town and of the island. Stari grad, the oldest town on the island and one of the first in Europe, was founded by the ancient Greeks in 385/384 BC as an independent polis of Pharos. At the time of the Roman colonisation it was called Pharis. From the formation of the Hvar commune in 1278, when Hvar (Civitas Nova) became the island's chief town, Stari Grad (Civitas Vetus) stagnated somewhat. The Greek town remained buried under the present day Stari Grad and only some fragmental architectural remains indicate its original lay-out, such as some parts of the 11 metre long Greek Walls, the so-called Cyclopean Walls, in the Tadic-Gramatorovi wine cellar. These walls are a part of the north city wall, while the east walls are just visible behind the church of Sv. Ivan (St. John). The stone blocks from the City Walls were incorporated into the foundations of the bell tower indicates that this was the very place where the main entrance of the town was. The inscription reads:

DEDURUNT HVIVIS PRIMORDIA MOLIS DE MOENIBUS URBIS RELIQUIAE ET DEDERAT GRESSUM IN URBEM JANUA...

The Roman town grew up around the perimeter of the Greek one. Thus, there are two preserved Roman mosaics under the pavement in the present-day Sridnja ulica (Middle Street), and there was a Roman bath under the church of Sv. Roko.

The medieval settlement grew up north of the Greek one and by the coast on the east. But there was nonetheless no change in the previously mentioned political and economic stagnation of the town in the 13th century. The architecture of the town, however, was not affected. Although the majority of the buildings were built in the 16th and 17th centuries, i.e. the Renaissance and baroque style are dominant in the city centre, there are many buildings with Romanesque and Gothic traces.

Approaches

Landmarks include the hotel complex on the left side of the harbour entrance, the belfry in the town, the white iron tower with a column exhibiting a white light on Kabal point, the green iron tower with a column exhibiting a green light situated on the new car-ferry landing place Zelenikovac (1.1M W of the harbour), the white square tower with a column exhibiting a green light on Fortin point, the white column exhibiting a red light situated on the old car-ferry landing place (E corner), the green metal tower (green light) situated near the W end of the quay.

Caution must be exercised during landing operations: a submerged stone block with a depth of 1.5m over it is situated some distance off the fourth bollard. A shoal patch ewtends in the vicinity of the landing place. It is marked by a conical buoy.

Weather

This area is one of the sunniest parts of the central and northern Mediterranean, characterised by an extremely bright sky, the mild Mediterranean Sun shining almost three thousand hours per year, with a high daily average of 7,3 sunny hours per day. In the summer, it rises even to an average of 11,3 hours, 7,4 hours in the spring, 6,3 hours in the autumn, and 4,2 hours in the winter.

This high rate of sunny weather has an influence on the relatively high yearly and daily temperature of the air. A medium January approximate of 7,8o makes this area the warmest part on the Mediterranean northern coast. On island Brac the temperature very occesionally drops below 0oC; on the other hand, more than a hundred days have a temperature of more than 25oC, and more than fifty days above 30oC.

Temperature of the sea: summer average of 22,6o C,

that is, an average yearly approximate of 17,5oC. 

The local and periodical (seasonal) winds also help to maintain a favourable climate. Among them, the most distinct are the local winds "jugo" (south-east wind) and the "bura" (north-east wind), which show up during the entire year, but especially well marked during the winter, when their bioclimatic activity is at it's peak. In the early spring and summer, the most characteristic wind is the Maestral which has important thermoregulation activity, because as it is a sea wind, it brings a favourable coolness.The Maestral is replaced by the night breeze from the north (burin), which cools the overheated dry land. Also in summer blow some other winds: tramontana (northwest), levant (eastern) and lebiæ (western), but they are less frequent.

Marinas and Anchorages

Stari Grad Harbour

The bay is sheltered from the bora. Only westerlies are apt to raise a disagreeable sea inside the harbour since the bay is open to the W. A violent sirocco may suddenly raise the sea level inside the harbour. Yachts can moor at the S shore in depth of about 3.5 m. Smaller yachts can berth at the E and N shores in depth of about 3 m, using the four-point moor. The waterfront is lined with bollards. A good anchorage ground is situated NE of Fortin point (depths 68 m). During the bora yachts can find shelter and anchor in Zavala and Tiha coves, whereas the coves Graciste, Sv Ante and Maslinica provide shelter from the sirocco.

The depth alongside the car-ferry landing-place and the breakwater are about 4.5 m.

Facilities

• Harbour master's branch office,
• post office,
• medical service,
• chemist's,
• wine cellar and grocery shops.
• Sarag Fishing Club.
• Provisions at local shops, water from the hydrant on the quay.

In the harbour on the N waterfront, there is a slipway for smaller vessels. The local shipyard undertakes repairs to wooden and plastic hulls, while maintenance jobs and minor repairs to marine engines can be effected at two local workshops.

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