KRK

Tu gdje od iskona fiju~e bura i zavija jugovina pod
~ijom silinom valovi po dragama na bijelim `alima
valjaju i gla~aju kamene oblutke, iznad, na tepisima
kamenih visoravni i{aranih rascvjetanom kaduljom,
smiljem, maj~inom du{icom simfonija eteri~nih mirisa
tjera vas da di{ete punim plu}ima. Na ovom posnom
tlu bilje je hrana i lijek. Najve}i dio ovog dijela otoka
prekriven je bjelinom {krtog kamenjara na kojemu ovce
pasu kadulju i druge eteri~ne mediteranske biljke
izlo`ene suncu, buri i {kropljenju slanim kapljicama
mora. U gotovo okrutnim uvjetima sunce, bura i sol iz
tih trava iscijede gotovo sve, osim kvalitete hranjivo
osoljenog mediteranskog koncentrata bogatog
eteri~nim mirisima. Ta posna slana pa{a tajna je
posebnosti oto~ke ovce, slasti njezina janjeta i
neodoljiva ukusa njena sira s prepoznatljivim
obilje`jima zavi~aja. @ive}i tisu}ama godina u prividu
plavetnila mora i neba na tom burom, solju i suncem
opaljenom kamenjaru ~ovjek je otkrio njegove tajne,
upoznao svaku jestivu i ljekovitu biljku i trav~icu,
ogradio pa{njak, iskr~io kamen, posadio lozu, maslinu
i smokvu, doradio, dogradio i prema svojoj mjeri i
prema mjeri podneblja oblikovao `ivotni prostor. U ne
odve} prijateljskom ambijentu mediteranskog kr{a
~ovjek je groma~ama stvarao red skriven u kaosu.
^ovjekov neumoljiv trud oblikovao je prelijepe kultivirane
pejza`e, oplemenjene slo`enom strukturom
groma~a.
Ula`u}i milijarde sati mukotrpna rada, humaniziraju}i
i kultiviraju}i pejza`, snagom volje i muke u
borbi za pre`ivljavanjem stvarao je Kr~anin fantasti~ne
likovne vizije s golim kamenom u kamenu
prostranstvu. Stvarao je poeziju kamena.
Groma~e su planovi ljudske misli, volje i upornosti
ucrtani na licu zemlje koji su iskonski krajolik u ostvarenju
arhitektonske zamisli pastira i te`aka pretvorili
u humanizirani pejza`. ^udnim se ~ini danas da je
upravo taj kr{ ~inio egzistencijalnu osnovu stotinama
nara{taja ali upravo je
tako. Sto~arstvo je bila prva
gospodarska aktivnost
ovoga kraja, a zatim poljodjelstvo,
ribarstvo i pomorstvo.
Kamen je bio jedini
dostupan gra|evni materijal.
Groma~ama je obilje`ena
granica izme|u komuna,
a zatim je podizana kao
me|a izme|u pa{njaka. Naslje|ivanjem
i parceliranjem
broj je groma~a sve vi{e rastao,
oblici se mijenjali, a
mozaik postajao sve gu{}i.
Groma~ama su se osim pa-
{njaka ogra|ivali maslinici,
vrta~e, nove kr~evine. Njima
su se {titili usjevi i vinogradi
od vjetra i posolice, u
suhozidu su gra|ene prve
nastambe i torovi za ovce,
prezidi i fortice, mul za
barku i mandra}.
Under nearly brutal conditions, the sun, wind and
salt drain almost everything out of these herbs except
for the quality of nutritiously salted Mediterranean
concentrate rich in ethereal aromas. This meager salty
pasture is the secret of the special quality of the island
sheep, the deliciousness of its lamb and the irresistible
taste of its cheese with the recognizable characteristics
of home.
Having lived for thousands of years in this appearance
of the blue seas and skies on this bora, salt and
sun burnt rock, man has discovered its secrets, learned
each edible and medicinal plant and herb, fenced the
pasture, cleared the stones, planted the grape, olive
and fig, prepared, built and, to his own measure and
to the measure of the climate, shaped his living space.
In the not too amicable setting of the Mediterranean
karst, man created order hidden in the chaos with
groma~as, the dry stone walls. Man’s tireless effort
shaped the beautiful cultivated landscapes, refined by
the complex structure of the dry stone walls.
Investing billions of hours of painstaking labor,
humanizing and cultivating the landscape, with the
force of the will in the struggle for survival, the man
of Krk created superb figurative visions using bare rock
in the rocky expanse. He created the poetry of the rock.
Groma~as are the plans of human thought, will
and persistence drawn on the face of the earth which
have turned the primordial landscape into a humanized
one through the realization of the architectural
concept of the shepherds and peasants. It seems odd
today that this karst indeed constituted the base for
the existence of hundreds of generations, yet it is
indeed so. Cattle raising was the first economic activity
of this region, followed by agriculture, fishing and
seafaring. Rock was the only available building material.
The dry stone walls marked the borders among
the communes, and later they were erected as boundaries
among the pastures. Through inheritance and
division into lots, the number
of walls grew, its
shapes changed and the
mosaic became denser.
Groma~as were also used
to fence the olive groves,
valleys and newly cleared
land. They shielded the
crops and the vineyards
from the winds and salt.
The first dwellings and
sheepfolds, partition walls
and fortifications, piers
and small harbors were
built in this technique.
The sea, the skies and
the rock. Rough rock,
rough life, rough hands,
but a sensitive soul. I used
to watch my father and
other Bodul peasants and
shepherds how skillfully
their resilient hands
found, caught and lifted
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