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Island Lošinj
(Home of the Devin)

Lošinj is part of the Cres-Lošinj archipelago. The Cres-Lošinj archipelago includes Cres and Lošinj, and the smaller islands of Unije, Ilovik, Susak, Vele Srakane, Male Srakane and a number of unhabited small islands. Cres is the biggest by area, Lošinj is second. Cres and Lošinj are connected by a small bridge in the town of Osor on the island of Cres.

Lošinj is the 11th largest Adriatic island by area, 33 km long, with the width varying from 4.75 km in the north and middle of the island, to 0.25 km near the town of Mali Lošinj. The total coastline of the island is 112.7 km.

With over 2600 hours of sunshine a year, the island has become a popular destination for Tourists in the summer months. Average air humidity is 70%, and the average summer temperature is 24 °C (75 °F) and 7 °C (45 °F) during the winter.

The highest elevations are the mountains Televrin (also called Osoršćica) (588 m) and Sv. Nikola (557 m). The towns of Nerezine and Sveti Jakov lie at their base. The island is formed predominantly of chalk limestone and dolomite rocks. There are sand deposits in the western part of the Kurila peninsula. The island has a mild climate and evergreen vegetation (like myrtle, holm oak, and laurel). The highest elevations in the north have more sparse vegetation. Veli Lošinj, Čikat and the south-western coast are ringed by pine forests.

History

The island of Lošinj is thought to have been inhabited since the Antiquity. This is evidenced by hill-forts at the foot of Osoršćica and around the port of Mali Lošinj. The Romans called this island Apsorrus, and referred to the islands of Lošinj and Cres collectively as Apsirtides. In several places, ruins of Roman villas have been excavated (villae rusticae: Liski, Sveti Jakov, and Studenčić near Ćunski). Several small eremitic churches dating from the Roman era have been preserved (St. Lovreć near Osor, and St. James in Sveti Jakov). In the Middle Ages, Lošinj was the property of the clerical and secular nobility of Osor and unpopulated.

The first evidence of settlers from the mainland was in 1280. Pursuant to a contract with Osor, their settlements gained self-governance in 1389. The name Lošinj was first mentioned in 1384. Parallel with the gradual decline of Osor from the 15th century onwards, the settlements Veli Lošinj and Mali Lošinj played an increasingly important role.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, trade, shipbuilding and seafaring on the island developed more intensely. After the fall of the Republic of Venice, Lošinj was under the Austro-Hungarian rule until its collapse in 1918; then under Italy until 1943. In 1945 the island was annexed by Yugoslavia. Lošinj has been part of Croatia since the country declared independence from the Yugoslav Federation in 1991.