museum shop of the dubrovnik museums

Pelješac Peninsula
Oysters and wine The Pelješac peninsula is so tenuously
connected with the mainland that it has the unique
character of an island. The first delight that awaits you is
the gastronomic haven of Mali Ston. The narrow lagoon
dividing Pelješac from the mainland is rich in premium quality
oysters, and the village restaurants offer some of the best
cuisine in the country. Nearby, the town of Ston is encircled
by 14th century stone walls, 5.5km long and once including
forty towers, which with the backdrop of the mountainous
countryside look scarily like the Great Wall of China. These
walls were built by the Republic of Dubrovnik due to valuable
salt pans and the town’s strategic position, and Ston is often
called “little Dubrovnik” as the streets have the same layout
and the same names. The historic salt pans still produce salt
for industrial purposes. If you’d like to have an active holiday
with a difference, you can join in salt harvesting, board and
victuals provided. Check out www.solanaston.hr.
The finest vineyards in Croatia bask on Pelješac’s spectacular
conical hills. This is the home of the indigenous Plavac Mali
grape, and on certain south facing slopes near the village of
Dingač the vines yield grapes of awesome quality. Dingač is
an atom bomb of a wine: rich, dark and strong, and was the
first Croatian wine to gain protected geographic origin (1961).
It’ll cost you about €10 a bottle, but to enjoy the Pelješac
experience to the full, we recommend you try it. Postup is
another Pelješac wine often called “Dingač’s baby brother”,
while Plavac is softer, more affordable and very quaffable. On
The Walls of Ston
dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com
dubrovnik neretvA CountY
In an area known for its rugged natural beauty, few manmade
sights are more magnificent than the grizzled
fourteenth-century walls of Ston. For many years only
a tiny stretch of this 5.5km-long line of fortifications
was accessible to the public, but after a long period of
renovation a significant circuit of wall was ceremonially
opened to the public in October 2009. Visitors can now
scramble around the ring of bastions that surrounds
the town of Ston itself, enjoying fantastic views of the
surrounding countryside.
The walls date back to 1334, when the Republic of
Dubrovnik gained Ston and the neighbouring Peljesac
peninsula, and immediately set about securing it against
potential Venetian or Ottoman attack. The area was well
worth the investment: the salt pans of Ston went on to
become a key source of Dubrovnik’s revenue, and helped
to keep the republic’s fleet on the seas.
Pelješac you can find wonderful stone villages, untouched by
modern times. Coastal hamlets are backed by steep slopes,
their shores fringed by pine. Pelješac is famous for pristine
shingle beaches, and on the southern side a bracing wind
makes this a favourite spot for windsurfers, especially at
Viganj. Orebić is the largest resort, its architecture reflecting
its links with the Republic of Dubrovnik, and has fantastic
stretches of shingle to the east of town. A ferry connects
Orebić with Korčula town.
The best thing about Pelješac is its unspoilt character. Take
time to slowly discover and drink in its delights - a week will
hardly be long enough.
Tourist information
Orebić Tourist Board Zrinsko
Frankopanska 2, Orebić, tel. (+385-20)
71 37 18, tz-orebic@tz-orebic.hr, www.
tz-orebic.com. QOpen 08:00 - 14:00.
Closed Sat, Sun.
Ston Tourist Board Pelješki put bb, Ston, tel.
(+385-20) 75 44 52, tzston@du.t-com.hr, www.
ston.hr. QDecember - March 31 Open 08:00 - 14:00.
Closed Sat, Sun. April - May 31 Open 08:00 - 14:00,
16:00 - 18:00. Closed Sat, Sun.
www.inyourpocket.com
Spanning the isthmus that connects the Pelješac peninsula
to the mainland, and consisting of 40 towers
and 5 fortresses, the walls comprise one of the longest
stretches of surviving fortifications in the whole of Europe.
Local sources reckon it to be the second longest stretch
in the world after the Great Wall of China, although this
eye-popping claim was probably intended as an attention-grabbing
ruse by PR-conscious tourist officials. In the
event, we feel obliged to report that a few idle seconds
of web-surfing revealed that Kumbhalgarh in India boasts
36km of surviving wall – although we didn’t bother investigating
any further. As there is no door preventing access
to the walls, you can visit them at any time. Occasionally
you might come across someone selling tickets, which
cost 20 - 30kn, while kids under 18 go free.
Winter 2011/2012
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