KRK

Svaki je hrvatski otok svojom sudbinom, svojom
pri~om, svojim izgledom druga~iji. Svi su iznimni,
neki su bez imena, a ve}ina i bez naselja. Tek njih 46
je nastanjeno stalno i na njima `ivi svega 119000
`itelja. Krk, s povr{inom od oko 410 km 2 smatran je
najve}im otokom. Najnovija mjerenja pokazala su da
otok Krk ima povr{inu od 405.78 km 2 istu kao i susjedni
otok Cres. Me|utim, Krk je najnaseljeniji hrvatski
otok i prema popisu stanovnika iz 2001. na njemu
`ivi 18361 `itelj. Prvi poznati podatak iz 1527. govori
o 10000 Kr~ana koje popularno nazivamo i
Boduli, a njihov otok Bodulija. Smatra se da naziv
potje~e iz talijanske rije~i “il bodulo” {to zna~i:
kopljanik presjajne Venecije. Vjerojatno naziv potje~e
jo{ iz razdoblja kada su Kr~ani odr`avali takmi~enja
u kojima su ja{u}i konja kopljem ga|ali cilj i kada su
kao podanici Serenissime, naoru`ani kopljima, u grani~nom
podru~ju {titili svoj otok od nepo`eljnih uljeza
i plja~ka{kih upada uskoka sa susjednog habsbur{kog
kopna.
Krk je jedan od rijetkih na{ih otoka koji je i
demografski ostao vitalan prvenstveno zahvaljuju}i
dinami~nom gospodarskom razvoju od {ezdesetih godina
20. stolje}a, kada je trajektnom linijom kao prvi
otok na Jadranu povezan s kopnom. Do tada izoliran
poput svih na{ih otoka, i Krk se iseljava. Godine
1970. na Krku `ivi svega 13000 ljudi, a u samom
New Yorku, s djecom, ima najmanje 16000 Kr~ana. U
tamo{njim telefonskim imenicima onog doba nalazimo
vi{e svojih prezimenjaka nego {to nabrajamo `ivih u
zavi~aju. Tih godina, kada se ~inilo da }e otok opustjeti
i da }e se sva mlade` iseliti, netko je napisao:
“Pre`ivjeti }e Krk, a izgubiti }e sve {to je do tada bio”.
I bio je ~ovjek u pravu jer ~udesno, gotovo preko no}i,
dolazi do promjena, preobra`aja svakodnevnog i
naslije|enog. Po~inje se nezaustavljivo mijenjati na~in
`ivota i slika otoka. Nestaje “na{a starina” i zapo~inje
nova stvarnost industrijalizacije i turizma. Dolazi do
o`ivljavanja Krka.
Povoljan gospodarski i demografski
razvoj otok Krk zahvaljuje,
uz raznovrsne prirodne
ljepote, dovoljnoj koli~ini vode,
bogatoj kulturno - povijesnoj
ba{tini i atraktivnom polo`aju
na sjevernom Jadranu, u Kvarnerskom
zaljevu, blizu Rijeke
koja je ishodi{te velikih srednjoeuropskih
regija prema moru.
Krk je smje{ten na pola puta
izme|u Ekvatora i Sjevernog
pola i kroz otok prolazi 45-a
paralela. Na samim vratima
zapadne Europe, na prijelazu
izme|u alpsko - srednjoeuropskoga
i dinarsko - sredozemnog
prostora ovaj otok sa zadivljuju}e
privla~nim krajolicima,
idili~nim naseljima i poznatim
turisti~kim sredi{tima udaljen je
samo nekoliko sati vo`nje automobilom
od srca Europe.
32
Each Croatian island boasts a different fate, story
and landscape. Every one of them is exceptional, some
are without name, and most are unsettled. Only 46 of
them are permanently inhabited with merely 119,000
residents. Krk, with an area of some 410 square km
was considered the largest island. Recent measuring,
however, has shown that the area of Krk is 405.78
square km, the same as that of the neighboring island
of Cres. Krk, nevertheless, is the most populated Croatian
island, and, according to the 2001 census, it is
home to 18,361 people. The first known mention of the
island dates from 1527, and it refers to 10,000 residents
of Krk, in common parlance also called Boduli,
their island being Bodulija. The name is considered to
be derived from the Italian word il bodulo which
means the spearman of the Republic of Venice. It probably
dates from the period when the residents of Krk
used to hold competitions in which they hit the target
on horseback, and when, as the subjects of the Serenissima,
armed with spears they protected their island in
the border area from undesired intruders and the
plundering excursions of the Uskoks from the neighboring
Habsburg mainland.
Krk is one of the few Croatian islands which has
remained demographically lively, primarily, thanks to
the dynamic economic development since the 1960s
when it became the first island on the Adriatic to be
linked by ferry with the mainland. Until then, isolated
as were all of the Croatian islands, Krk suffered
from emigration. In 1970, merely 13,000 people lived
on Krk, while in New York City there lived with children
at least 16,000 Krk natives. More persons with
the same family name could be found in the phone
books at the time than living persons counted on the
island. Then, when it appeared that the island would
become deserted and that all of the youth would emigrate,
somebody wrote: “Krk will live and it will lose
everything it was until then.” The man was right, as,
miraculously, almost over
night, changes occurred, a
metamorphosis of the everyday
and the inherited. The
lifestyle and the image of the
island began unstoppably to
change. “Our old times” vanished
and the new reality of
industrialization and tourism
began. Krk was being revitalized.
The island owes its favorable
economic and demographic
development to its varied
scenery, sufficient water resources,
rich cultural and historic
legacy, as well as its
attractive location on the northern
Adriatic, in the Gulf of
Kvarner, in the proximity of
Rijeka which serves as the
gateway to the sea for large
central European regions. Krk
is located halfway between