Mljet travel guide

About Mljet: The green island of Mljet as some like to call it, really is the greenest island on the Adriatic. With its lush vegetation, beautiful sandy beaches and, above all, clear and clean water has long been a destination of choice for tourists who decide to spend holidays on the southern Adriatic.

The island of Mljet was known to the Greek sailors still in prehistoric times.
The historical sources that had proven this to be a fact have existed since the fourth century BC.

In the first century BC, according to the Roman writers, the island was settled by the Illyrians.

First settled in the bay and village Polače, on the northwest side of the island.
Probably the main reason was the source of drinking water and natural sheltered bay with many islands in front of it.
Gradually settlers settled other parts of the island Mljet, as result we can today witness a number of stone forts, cemeteries and ruins which are scattered all over the island.

Old Dubrovnik writers wrote about the ruins Polače (palace) which was built by King Agezilaj from Cilicia, when the Roman emperor banished him from Asia Minor.

The palace was built on the model of a Roman palace, constructed in the form of a rectangle with two distinctive bumps facing the sea.
This large complex was later combined with dwellings.

There are many preserved pre-Romanesque, Romanesque and other antic monuments on the island.

Nowadays Mljet is a green oasis of peace and tranquility, but its history was not often that peaceful - on many occasions the island was a scene of fierce battles for supremacy.

Fall of the 800 years long reign of the Roman Empire marked the turbulent VII century, Mljet became a refugee zone primarily for residents coming from Roman colonies, mainly Narona, Epidaurus, Korčula and Pelječac.

In the centuries that came many rulers changed and wars broke out often.
From the ninth century, the Croats from the Neretva valley gradually started coming to the island of Mljet, and in the eleventh century they already settled much of Mljet. Only Polače and some part of the western islands were still inhabited by Romans.

It is not exactly known why the commander of the Croatian army chose "John's day" for the main armed struggle against the Roman-Slavic army, perhaps because in the folk tradition St. John is the patron of spring water, and Polače area was known for water resources, hence the reason why they were settled so early.

On that day John's Field on Mljet became a huge cemetery, which because of terrible stories about the streams of blood that had flown all the way to the sea and a large number of human bones, no one has worked for centuries.
Many soldiers were killed on both sides that day.

In history of Mljet even more interesting historic facts and dates are related to John's day.
It is known that on John's Day (24th of June), year unknown, Croatians from Neretva became rulers of the whole island of Mljet.

But soon the Neretvanian Oblast collapsed and Mljet came under the authority of the Zahumlje rulers.

Shortly afterwards Benedictines from Apulia came to Mljet and become feudal lords of the entire island. Mljet has been given to Benedictines by the prince of Zahumlje in 1151.
On an isolated island in the middle of the Great Lake Benedictines built the church of St. Mary and the monastery next to it.

After almost three centuries, in concert with Dubrovnik they renounced their power over 2 / 3 of the island of Mljet and thus formally Mljet belongs to the Republic of Dubrovnik from 1410.

Municipality in Babino Polje has committed to pay annual fee to the Benedictines in value of 300 perpers and one chicken for every household.

When Napoleon came to power in the Republic of Dubrovnik, which was also the end of its existence, he dissolved all the Benedictine monasteries.
Later on, in the era of the Habsburg Monarchy, the monasteries were used by the Austrian Forest Administration.

Between the two world wars diocese of Dubrovnik took possession over the monastery. After the war, the monastery was again seized from the diocese and was finally returned back to the diocese of Dubrovnik in 1998.
During the period of Yugoslavia the monastery was used as a hotel.

Yet another of the many interesting tumultuous historic tales of the island is the legend of Odysseus.
The fact is that the island of Mljet was known even in ancient times, and according to Homer on his return from the Trojan War Odysseus shipwrecked on a rock near the island Ogigije and hid from the storms in the cave.

The island Mljet actually has many caves which could have been the place where Odysseus and the nymph Calypso met.
Particular Rocks at the entrance to one of the larger caves have for long time been called Ogiranj and during the tide they pose a real danger for the fishermen and sailors, because the sharp rocks are then completely covered by the sea.
It is very likely that the ancient Ogigija rock that Homer mentioned was precisely in this exact spot.
Today some claim that Malta was actually the place where Odysseus shipwrecked, these claims are usually backed up by the fact that Homer mentions the name Malta. But we should know that Mljet was not always called Mljet, in fact its ancient names were de Malta, de Melite, di Meleda etc.
Also, the vineyards and olive groves that fascinated Odyssey are actually in the vicinity of the cave in which he took refuge.
Thus the chances that Mljet is indeed the island were legendary Odyssey spent some of his times are very high.

There is also the National Park Mljet on the island which includes Small and Great Lake and Soline.