Vrbnik

If you are looking for a place that brims with tradition, want to explore its history and enjoy peaceful nature and superb cuisine, Vrbnik is just the right choice.

This picturesque town at the very top of a steep cliff some fifty metres above the sea, was immortalised in the song called Vrbniče nad morem (”Vrbnik above the sea”).

Learn more about its 900-years-long history and why it has inspired so many poets, photographers, and painters.The first written record of Vrbnik can be traced far back to 1100. Many rulers changed in Vrbnik: the Illyrians were pushed away when the Croats inhabited the island, then came the Venetians, the Frankopan Counts of Krk, the French and the Austrian-Hungarian rulers... Each step through a maze of the town alleys reveals a new fact about its history.

The family of the Frankopan Counts of Krk, who ruled the island in the Middle Ages, comes precisely from Vrbnik. Their palace, Knežev dvor, used to be here, while above the Vrbnik Field you can still see one of their estates, the Gradec castle. A set of regulations known as the Statute Book of Vrbnik was written in 1388 in Croatian, in the Glagolitic script, by one of the Frankopans. Vrbnik was for centuries considered the most important Glagolitic centre on the island. This is why even today you will get to see many Glagolitic inscriptions on house walls.

Once you learn how to write your name in the Glagolitic script, reward yourself with a nice walk through meandering alleys and try to find Klančić, the narrowest street in the world. Vrbnik is a town of culture and wine, a place where spiritual life and hedonism coexist just like its inhabitants, diligent farmers and respected intellectuals. It is so much more than just a picturesque town atop a sea cliff. In its inland area there is fertile Vrbnik Field with vines of Žlahtina, a famous wine variety whose name comes from the word ‘noble’. This elegant white wine with a light and refreshing taste has been on the wine lists of prestigious restaurants and wine shops for decades, not only on Krk, the Golden Island, but also all over the country.

Pair a glass of Vrbnik Žlahtina with delightful local dishes prepared in the town’s konobas and restaurants.Spend a day outdoors, walking or cycling through the Vrbnik’s vineyards and olive groves and fields of aromatic wild herbs in its inland area, the hamlets of Garica, Risika and Kampelje, all the while enjoying the nature and the breath-taking view of the Velebit Channel.