island
of hvar

about island of hvar

Hvar, after Cres the longest of the Adriatic islands (68 km long), is also the fourth largest in area (300 square kilometres). The longitudinal road that links the town of Hvar with Sucuraj at the eastern end of the island is 84 km long. The high plateau (partly under pine woods and partly under arable land) is marked by distinctive beauty and a fresh climate. The flat part of the island is under vineyards that produce up to 50,000 hectolitres of wine per year. In front of the western part of the southern coast of Hvar are Pakleni Otoci, and in front of the middle part the island of Scedro.

The island is characterized by mild Mediterranean climate. An average air temperature in January is 8.4°C and in July 24.8°C. Hvar has an annual average of 7.7 hours sunshine per day and 3.8 hours of cloud. It has the most hours of sunshine on the Adriatic coast, with as much as 2715 per year, and only small variations in temperature.
The first inhabitants of Hvar Island were Neolithic people. The Neolithic age proves its existence in the history of the Hvar Island by a fragment of pottery dating from the year 2500 B.C. The Island of Hvar was know by other names also, depending on what culture it belonged to. First it was known as Pharos and after that it was called Piteyeia (around the third century B.C.). While it was under Roman rule it was called Pharia and later Fara. The Slavs, people that occupied the island during the middle ages, named the island Hvar.

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