Bol (island Brac) Locate On Map

BOL TOURIST INFORMATION

Bol (Croatia, Central Dalmatia, Island Brac) is the oldest town on the island of Brac and from the town of fishermens and wine growers it became a famous tourist centre. It is hard to show in brief what is Bol today but it is definitely the place for ideal holiday.

Island of Brac is the largest Dalmatian island with an area of 394,6 km2. It looks like a massive ship in the picturesque archipelago of the Dalmatian islands. There are about twenty towns on the island of Brac today and Bol is well known to people.

Bol is in many ways a very special town and not only because he is the first and the oldest little island town on the coast. It didn't take the normal position like other coastal towns in the amphitheatrically slopes of the protected bays, it is alone and separated on the southern, open part of the island, with the beautiful beaches connected like necklace of pearls. Above Bol there stands a mountain crown Bolska kruna, fortified Kostilo, with an illiryc gradin (660m) and Vidova gora (778m), the highest peak of the island of Brac.

The name Bol comes from the latin word vallum, that means "entrenchment" or "fortified town". Latin word vallum has the equal meaning like the old Croatian word coast. The name must have come from a mixture of the roman vallum and Slavic "obala".

Bol is famous for its magnificent beaches made of sand-like white pebbles, like fish's eye-white. Zlatni rât in Bol is considered to be the most beautiful beach of the Adriatic. It stretches out its white tongue almost half a kilometer towards the nearby island Hvar, and the top of it moves like the winds blow from one side to another.

HISTORY

Brac was inhabited by people in the prehistoric ages, probably in Mesolithic, and certainly in Neolithic, at the end of the third millennium BC. The people were pre-Indo-Europeans Illyrian population and in the second millennium they inhabited the island. By the end of the 8th or the beginning of the 9th century the Croats from the river Neretva came to this region so they threw out the Illyrian population

Through its long history Brac and Bol were attacked and controlled by other nations like
Byzantine reign, Venetians, Hungarians, pirates from Omis, Russians, French, and British and so on. After the fall of Napoleon, Brac was again under Austrian government, on July 7, 1814. In 1823 year, Brac was divided in 7 districts; one of them was the district of Bol. Later on they had a long and difficult fight for the use of Croatian language, and for the unification with Croatia.

VITICULTURE

Viticulture started to grow with the phenomenon of vine pest in the west, at the beginning of the 20th century. The increase the number of wine growing forced people of Bol to start clearing olive-groves (land) for the vineyards. But that did not last long, because in 1894 the vine pest came in this region and the consequences were fatal, because there was high number of emigrants.

OLIVE GROWING

The people of Bol cleared olive groves (land) for the vineyards, so that this branch of the agriculture was not important in the last two hundred years. In the near by past the olive growing started to advance, many new olive trees were planted, and the old olive groves were revived.

FISHING TRADE

Bol was the most developed fishing town on the island together with Milna. One third of the population of Bol lived because of fishing. Before the Second World War there were 13 groups that in summer period went fishing together for the oily fish. During the season, they would catch more than 200 tons of oily fish that was later sent to be salted. Nowadays nobody makes a living onley by fishing. Fishing trade is mainly a hobby occupation.

SEAFARING

Brac was the third seafaring place on the Croatian part of the Adriatic at that time - 18th century (with Boka and Losinj), and on the island the most famous centre was Bol. In 17th century, Bol had 15 patented boats, but Split had none such boat and by the end of the 17th century Bol had its own shipyard.

TOURISM

At the beginning of the century Bol began a strong development of tourism in Dalmatia and it had all the conditions for the development of the tourism-based industry like: beautiful beaches spread through the coast, with the beach Zlatni rât (Golden Cape), bright clear sea, mild climate conditions and drinkable spring water.

In 1923 year was the first organized Youth Holiday Association colony in Bol. The members of the Association stayed in the school building and they worked for 30 days during the season, and the members were all students. They were the first carriers of tourism in Bol.

In the year 1927, there comes a man who can be considered as a first man of the tourism and hotel industry in Bol. He was Ante Vidosevic, who started to renovate his house and turned it into a motel, which opened the year after. As time passed by, the motel was increasing its capacity and it became "Pension Vidosevic". Following his lead, few of households started providing accommodation and other restaurants were opened (Pension Dalmacija, Restaurant Turketo, Restaurant Soljacic, and Restaurant Marinkovic). In the 1948 the hotel company "Zlatni rât" was built (the former capacities of the Pension Vidosevic). In the following years the hotel grew slowly mainly with the adaptation of the existing houses.

In 1963, "Bijela kuca" the hotel was opened, after the renovation of the former pupils' hostel. From that time on everything started to grow and several large hotels were opened like: in 1971 hotel "Elaphusa" was opened, in 1976 hotel "Borak", and in 1984 hotel complex "Bretanide" in 1999 the new hotel complex "Bonaca" was opened. Many stores, restaurants taverns, grills, bars and discotheques were opened and the varieties of sports activities were developed.

Bol was becoming a tourist centre of the island and also one of the best tourist destinations in Dalmatia. For all the efforts made in developing tourism and good of services, Bol and the hotel company "Zlatni rât" received many acknowledgements and rewards.

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