Orebic or Sabbioncello on Italian is a port on the
Adriatic coast in Dubrovnik-Neretva county of Croatia. It is small
pristine town with a friendly atmosphere and even friendlier
climate. Orebic is a port municipality of 4,101 inhabitants in the
Dubrovnik-Neretva region in Dalmatia. It is located on the peninsula
of the same name. Before the 16th century it was called Trestenicco
or Trestenico (Trstenica). Orebic is connected with ferries to the
city of Korčula, located on the island of the same name. Tourism is
important in the region and a popular attraction is the Franciscan
monastery.
According to the 2001 census the municipality of
Sabbioncello had 4,165 residents, of which 93% declared themselves
to be a Croatian mother tongue and the remainder mainly Bosgnacco
and Albanian. The Dalmatian town had an Italian mayor until the late
nineteenth century.
The city is located on the south side of the peninsula, protected by the 961 m high Sveti Ilija (Saint Elias). Directly opposite Orebić is the important Adriatic passenger port Korčula, at the same time of historical importance. Orebić itself owns a ferry port to the island of Korčula and, with one of the rare sandy beaches in Croatia, is once again becoming an important holiday destination in southern Dalmatia.
There are over 40 churches and chapels in the municipality of
Orebić, which testifies to the Catholic tradition in this area. At
the very top of Pelješac, at an altitude of 961 m, are the remains
of the church of St. Elijah the prophet. It is mentioned in the
visitation of the Ston diocese no. 10 of July 2, 1621. Today only
the foundations of it remain. It was abandoned during the 19th
century, probably due to lightning damage, but during the 19th and
20th it was a destination for pilgrims and excursionists and
occasionally served for Mass. During the World War II and after the
site suffered from vandalism by picnickers and negligence of the
authorities. In the excursion house near the top there is a
decapitated baroque statue of St. Elijah the Prophet from the 17th
century. On it is an inscription in Latin: "OBSCERO DOMINE, TOLLE
ANIMAM MEAM" (I pray Lord, take my life). The very top on which the
church is located is the border of the cadastral municipalities and
is located on the border of the municipalities of Orebić and Trpanj.
There are 17 Catholic cemeteries within the municipality of
Orebić. As a memorial to the fight against the Italian occupiers in
the Second World War, there are numerous monuments to partisan
fighters and victims of the occupiers throughout the municipality.
There are 7 fountains from the 19th century in the settlement of
Orebić. Neo-Renaissance fountains were erected in 1880, when a
waterworks was built through the place. Peljesac got a new water
supply system (Neretva) only in the 80s of the 20th century. Houses
were obligatory, and some still have cisterns, ie reservoirs. The
old water supply system is still functioning today and can come to
the rescue when the supply from the mainland disappears. Outside the
settlement of Orebić, on a hill is the monastery of Our Lady of the
Angels with a lookout that also served as an observatory during the
time of the Dubrovnik Republic. The viewpoint offers a view of the
entire Pelješac Channel, an archipelago of about 20 islands located
between Pelješac and Korčula. The most important is the island of
Badija, where the monastery is located. Not far from the monastery
are the villages of Bilopolje and Žukovac. It is home to several
residents. There are several ruins of old large manor houses from
the 19th century.
If you want to take a view of the entire city of Orebic and do some hiking, then Mount of Saint Elijah (Sveti Ilija) is a place to start. The hiking trails are well marked with signs pointing in the direction of the peak that reaches the height of 961 meters above the sea level. Hilltop of the mount is covered by ruins of an old Church of Saint Elijah. Its construction began on July 1621. However it was abandoned in the 19th century. The building fell prey to the elements and local quarrying. Today only few signs of foundation remain. However on some occasions Christian mass is observed on the ruins of the old Orebic church.
The most famous tourist attraction in the city is the Franciscan monastery of Our Lady of Angels. It stands on a Peljesac peninsula, 2 km West of Orebic. Franciscan monastery is a modest Romanesque monastery perched on a side of a hilltop 152 meters above the Adriatic Sea. Franciscan monastery was found in late 15th century under supervision of Michal Radisic during a period of the Republic of Ragusa with a capital in Dubrovnik. The main church of the monastery was found in 1534. Other buildings here were reconstructed several times over a course of centuries.
Franciscan Monastery is surrounded by a protected cypress grove and a small cemetery for local fishermen and traders. It is no wonder that cloister is highly respected among residents of Orebic. Local fishermen and traders alike have a tradition of greeting the monks of the monastery and their dead ancestors with three calls with their ship sirens. Franciscan monks would answer the call by ringing tower bells.
Another interesting place to visit is the Maritime Museum. It traces the history of sea faring heritage that is particularly venerated by the citizens of Orebic. The museum has a collection of artifacts, ship models and a collection of paintings on the subject.
Besides the Adriatic sea and surrounding islands can be very interesting if you like scuba diving, sailing and other water sports. Besides local fishermen can take you on a boating trip around Orebic and its surroundings for a modest pay that is usually very affordable.
The area of the municipality of Orebić includes a rich cultural
heritage within 22 historical settlements or their parts, with
numerous sacral buildings and cemeteries, 28 archaeological zones
and sites and 16 spatial complexes of architectural and natural
heritage.
Orebic was founded at the end of the 15th and the
beginning of the 16th century, in the area of the then Republic of
Dubrovnik, and from the very beginning it turned to the sea as a
source of profit. In 1586, sailors from the Orebić family rebuilt
the castle in the middle of a fortified settlement, which was named
Orebić after them. Until the 16th century, the place was called
Trstenica. From the 14th to the 19th century it was the seat of the
prince. During that time, Orebic was under the administration of the
Republic of Dubrovnik. It has long developed as a maritime center.
Maritime tradition
From the 17th century, Pelješac ships
formed an important part of the Dubrovnik merchant navy. Shipowners'
families became more and more powerful and began to invest in joint
sailing ships. Their rise continued under Austrian rule, especially
in the second half of the 19th century, when, in 1865, a joint stock
company for the "construction (and operation) of long-distance
ships" was founded in Orebić, later the Pelješac Maritime Society,
and in 1875 acquired is equipment for the social shipyard in Orebić.
The shipyard was ceremoniously opened by Emperor Francis Joseph. It
was mainly used to repair ships, and during its working life (13
years), it also built 3 long sailing sailboats. Today, Orebic is an
important tourist center and offers a variety of accommodation,
recreational and gastronomic offer. In summer, theaters are hosted
here, and various cultural and entertainment performances are
organized. July 16 is the feast of Our Lady of Carmen, the patron
saint of Pelješac sailors.
The Municipality consists of 14 settlements (status 2006), these are:
Donja Banda, Kučište, Kuna Pelješka, Lovište, Nakovanj, Orebić,
Oskorušno, Pijavičino, Podgorje, Podobuče, Potoje, Stankovići, Trstenik,
Viganj.
The police department responsible for issuing identity
documents is located in Ston. He comes to Orebic only on Thursdays-then
it is possible to download documents, but requests are submitted
exclusively in Ston. The court in charge of the municipality of Orebic
is located in the town of Korcula-according to the layout of the
municipalities from the time of the SFRY.
According to the 2011 census in the whole municipality there are 4122
inhabitants, while in the town of Orebic there are 1,949 inhabitants.
Very few of today's inhabitants of the Orebić settlement itself are
indigenous. Most of the population comes from Western Herzegovina and
Dalmatian hinterland, who started moving in the 1960s primarily from the
municipalities of Ljubuški and Vrgorac. For this reason, many residents
of Pelješac and Korčula sometimes call Orebić Rostolje-derived from Roso
and Tolj-two of the most common surnames in Orebić. a smaller part
originates from the island of Korcula.
According to the census it
can be seen that since the 1960s of the Second World War the population
of the municipality has slowly grown. The growth is even greater if only
the settlement of Orebić is taken into account. In other parts of the
municipality, the number of inhabitants is constantly declining.
Immigrant population in Orebic municipality accounts for 53.0% of the
total population. With the exception of local resettlement (6.6%), the
rest is immigration to the municipality of Orebic (total 49.5%).
In the area of Orebic municipality there are a large number of cottages.
Most of them (about 70 %) are owned by BiH citizens. Most of them were
built in the 1980s after the Sarajevo Olympics.
The demographic
history of Orebić (and Pelješac in general) can be divided into three
phases: pre-transition, transition and post-transition phase. The
pre-transition phase continued until the end of the 18th. century. The
transition period lasted from then until the 1970s. It originally
started in coastal, maritime-oriented places and only then on those
inland. In the transition phase, due to high natural growth, there was a
large increase in the population. "The surplus population was forced
into eviction. They migrated mostly to overseas countries: Australia,
Argentina and the USA. The long transition phase is a consequence of the
early beginning (since the Republic of Dubrovnik was among the most
developed countries of its time) and the late end (since it was annexed
to Dalmatia, which was much less developed) another significant decline
in population is recorded in the 1960s and 1970s. the economic policy of
the SRH. At that time, the policy shifted the focus of economic
development to the municipal centers, which caused the peripheral parts
to regress. Pelješac was mostly part of the municipality of Dubrovnik,
and a smaller part in the stastava of the municipality of Korčula, and
in both cases it was on the outskirts.
In the area of the
municipality of Orebić and the entire west of Pelješac,
chakavian-ikavian was traditionally spoken, i.e. South chakavian dialect
that is shared with the island of Korčula. Due to the emigration of the
population and immigration from Zagora and Western Herzegovina, it
increasingly loses chakavian elements and becomes shtokavian-ikavian
like most coastal areas of Dalmatia.
Orebic is located in the southwest of the Pelješac peninsula under
the hill of St. Ilija. It is located on the Pelješac channel opposite
the town of Korčula on the island of the same name and is connected to
it by ferry. Although the municipality is located on the peninsula, it
is almost of an island character. The sea and the seashore completely
permeate the landscape and life of the people of the municipality. The
plant cover is very scarce. The agricultural and livestock exploitation
of the area affected the devastation of the plant cover in which often
bare limestone boulders, or large areas of Garig, remained. Orebic
village is about 112 km away from Dubrovnik. The area of the
municipality is 113.13 km2. The length of the road that passes through
the municipality is 72 km. of these, 35 km are state, 27 km County and
10 km local roads. In fact, few people live in Orebic, but a lot of them
visit this small place on Peljesac in the summer.
The
municipality of Orebić is divided into the following Cadastral
municipalities with associated areas:
K.O. Casing
K.O. Kuna
Peljeska (10.25 km2)
K.O. Hunting ground (12.5 km2)
K.O. Anvil
(17.48 km2)
K.O. Orebic (1.78 km2)
K.O. Lejavičino (12.73 km2)
K.O. Podgorje (8.15 km2)
K.O. Podobuče (6.82 km2)
K.O. Posteje
(8.47 km2
K.O. Prizdrina
K.O. Stanković (6.32 km2)
K.O.
Trstenik (4.3 km2)
K.O. Viganj (7.63 km2)
From the forest
communities comes the following:
Evergreen forests and Maquis
blackberries with myrtle (As. Myrto-Quercetum illicis )
Wood and
Macchia black and black ash (As.Fraxino-Orni-Quercetum ilicis)
Mixed
forests and Maquis and black-tailed deer
Dalmatian black pine forests
with resik
Makija somine and tršlje
Community of sage and kovilja
Meadow Community of šašika and upright ovsik
In the area of the
municipality, the combination of pedogenetic factors and processes
resulted in a relatively small number of types of Talas, which fall into
the automorphic Talas division. The most common types of soil are medium
deep brown soil on limestone and limestone dolomite organomineral black.
Particularly valuable arable soils occupy 9.72% of the area. Most of
them are located in the so-called Pelješac parishes on the western part
of the municipality: between Kuna, Potje and Pijavičino and above
Trstenik and a small part on the northern part of The Hunting Ground.
35.3% of the municipality's area is covered by forest.
Today, the most important activity is tourism (developed since the
1960s), which reached its peak in 1991. year. There is also a
significant transit role (ferry connection with the island of Korčula).
One of the most important branches of the economy is olive growing as
well as viticulture. In the municipality of Orebic there are two
important wine-growing areas Dingač and Postup. In history, the most
important activity was Maritime (Orebic was known as a place with many
sea captains) as well as agriculture (olive and wine growing). Both
branches are today in the shadow of Tourism. There are 93 companies and
158 trades registered in the municipality of Orebic. According to the
1991 census tertiary activities were handled by 59.50% of inhabitants
while in 2001. this dropped to 38.71 %. The tertiary activities are
dominated by Tourism and hospitality, which are in constant decline.
Catering and tourism activity is an important vehicle for the
development of Orebić and provided a relatively high employment rate of
the local population, and partly provided conditions for the development
of other activities and facilities in the municipality.
Since
1991. as a consequence of direct and indirect events caused by the
imposed war on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, the use of
capacity since 1991. – 1993. the year was partly non-commercial,
conditioned by the accommodation of exiles and refugees. About 500
retirees live in the municipality.
There are 7 post offices in the municipality of Orebić the municipality has good GSM signal coverage. Only in rare areas of the hills there is no signal. A military radar was installed on rota hill above Kuna Peljeska. The municipality of Orebic is crossed by 2 transmission lines: one of 110 kV and a long one of 35 kV. Several solar panels were installed on Bila plate Hill with the aim of further expanding them.
There are numerous small springs in Orebic municipality. There are
two more important sources: Ruskovići and Trstenica. The main feature of
these Springs is a small yield of up to 1.5 l/SEC. therefore, no serious
water supply can be based on them. In the summer months when water needs
are highest, the amounts provided by the springs are completely
negligible. The water supply of Orebić municipality from trstenik to
Lovište is based on the NPKL water supply system, which is fed by water
from the Prud spring near the village of Prud near Metković (Neretva
river). In the summer peak months, due to the overload of the system,
there is often a reduction of water in certain settlements. For this
reason, many houses have built-in chatrns. The problem of municipal
water supply is the stretching of the settlement : from hunting ground
to Trstenik is about 40 km with a small number of consumers of which 30%
are exclusively seasonal consumers. In the municipality of Orebic, there
are mostly no built wastewater drainage systems. Wastewater is mostly
solved by the construction of septic tanks, which in summer are known to
be full at the peak of the tourist season. In the Hunting Ground, in the
area of Mirca, there is a biological wastewater treatment plant.
In the area of the municipality there is no regulated drainage of
rainwater. This is especially true for the part of the Pelješac Riviera,
for the settlement of Orebić and the settlements to the west of it.
State Road D 414, as well as the built part of the county road in the
function of the bypass of Casišta and Viganj, form artificial barriers
of the surface flow of rainwater from the drainage basin above them.
Through most of the leaks, plumbing, electricity and telephones are
carried out, which reduces their throughput to a greater or lesser
extent. Precipitation waters flow uncontrollably on the coastal road,
along the surface and across, towards the lower areas and most often
flow uncontrollably into torrential flows and into the sea.
There are over 40 churches and chapels in the municipality of Orebic,
which testifies to the Catholic tradition in this area. At the very top
of Pelješac, at 961 m high there are the remains of the Church of St.
Peter. Elijah the Prophet. It is mentioned in the visitation of Ston
diocese no. 10 out of 2. July 1621. Today only the foundations remain.
It was abandoned on the 19th. century probably due to damage due to
lightning but during the 19th century. and 20. it was a destination for
pilgrims and hikers and occasionally served to perform mass. During 2.
STs. the war was most badly damaged when several German battlefields
were built near it, and after the war by vandalism of hikers and the
neglect of the authorities. In the excursion house near the top there is
a beheaded baroque statue of sv. Elijah the Prophet 17. century. It
bears an inscription in Latin: "OBSCERO DOMINE, TOLLE ANIMAM MEAM" (take
heed, Lord, and receive my soul). The peak on which crkvica is located
is a tripoint of cadastral municipalities and is located on the border
of the municipalities of Orebic and Trpanj.
There are 17 Catholic
cemeteries within the municipality of Orebic. As a memorial to the fight
against the Italian occupiers in the Second World War, there are
numerous monuments to partisan fighters and victims of the occupiers
throughout the municipality.
In the village of Orebic there are 7
fountains from the 19th century. century. Neo-Renaissance fountains were
installed in 1880. years, when the water supply was built through the
site. Pelješac got a new water supply (Neretva) only in the 80s of the
20th century.century. The houses were compulsory, and some still have
cisterns today, i.e. plumbing. The old water supply is still functioning
today and can come to the rescue when supplies from the mainland run
out. Outside the village of Orebić, there is a monastery of Our Lady of
the Angels on the hill with a lookout point that served as an
observation post during the time of the Dubrovnik Republic. The
viewpoint offers a view of the entire Pelješac channel archipelago of 20
islets located between Pelješac and Korčula. The most significant is the
islet of Badija on which the monastery is located. Not far from the
monastery are the villages of Bilopolje and Žukovac. There are a few
people living in it. There are several ruins of old manor houses from
the 19th century.century.