Valamar Blog

The Isle of Lokrum is certainly the most beautiful adornment in the vicinity of Dubrovnik. This perpetually green islet of total area of only 180 acres, was declared a special forest vegetation reserve in 1976. It is mostly covered with lush vegetation, and on a relatively small area there are numerous types of vegetation of a ”real” Mediterranean floral-geographical area, so-called ”Eumediterranean.” The isle’s flora, according to the research so far, numbers around 400 species.

But, besides its astounding beauty, Lokrum is for the citizens of Dubrovnik a lot more than just that. Namely, one stormy night in October 1192, on his way back from Palestine, English King Richard Lion-Heart with his Third Crusade suffered shipwreck. He swore that he would build, the first time he puts his foot an a solid ground again, a church dedicated to the Madonna. He landed on Lokrum. A smaller church was indeed built.

A special attraction is the Benedictine monastery founded in 1023, and the Forester’s House which can be found as soon as one sets foot on the isle. It is a former residence of Duke Maximilian Ferdinand. So the mystic of Lokrum and its rich history do not remain untold, the town council opened the Centre for visitors in the Forester’s House on October 27 this year. It was planned as a dynamical system that offers the visitors informations about the reserve, and its natural, cultural and historical importances and notabilities. On the other hand, the multimedia corner enables the access to data about the reserve, but also about the other nature parks on the Adriatic.