Lošinj

Infobox Islands
name = Lošinj

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image caption = Mali Lošinj
image size =
locator

native name =
native name link = Croatian
nickname =
location = Adriatic sea
coordinates = coord|44|35|N|14|24|E|type:isle|display=inline,title
archipelago = Cres-Lošinj
total islands =
major islands =
area = convert|74.36|km2|sqmi|abbr=on
length = convert|33|km|mi|abbr=on
width = convert|4.75|-|.25|km|mi|abbr=on
coastline = convert|112.7|km|mi|abbr=on
highest mount = Televrin
elevation = 588 m
country = Croatia
country admin divisions title = County
country admin divisions = Primorje-Gorski
country capital city =
country largest city = Mali Lošinj
country largest city population = 8,388
country leader title =
country leader name =
population = 7,771
population as of = 2001
density = 104.51
ethnic groups =
additional info =

Lošinj (pronounced loh-sheen) (Italian "Lussino"; German: "Lötzing"; Latin "Apsorrus", Greek: "Apsorros", "Αψωρος") is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, in the Kvarner Gulf. It is almost due south of the city of Rijeka and part of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county.

The settlements on Lošinj include Nerezine, Sveti Jakov, Ćunski, Artaturi, Mali Lošinj and Veli Lošinj.

A regional road runs the length of the island; ferry connections (via the island of Cres) include Brestova - Porozina, Merag - Valbiska, Mali Lošinj - Zadar, Mali Lošinj - Pula. There is also an airport on the island of Lošinj.

Geography

Lošinj is part of the Cres-Lošinj archipelago. The Cres-Lošinj archipelago includes Cres and Lošinj, and the smaller islands of Unije, Ilovik, Susak, Vele Srakane, Male Srakane and a number of uninhabited small islands. Cres is the biggest by area, Lošinj is second. Cres and Lošinj are connected by a small bridge at the town of Osor on Cres.

Lošinj is the 11th largest Adriatic island by area, 33 km long, with the width varying from 4.75 km in the north and middle of the island, to 0.25 km near the town of Mali Lošinj. The total coastline of the island is 112.7 km [http://www.tz-malilosinj.hr/Losinj.aspx?IzbornikId=17&lang=en-GB] .

With around 2600 hours of sunshine a year, the island has become a popular destination for Slovenian, German and Italian tourists in the summer months. Average air humidity is 70%, and the average summer temperature is 24 °C (75 °F) and 7 °C (45 °F) during the winter [http://www.tz-malilosinj.hr/Losinj.aspx?IzbornikId=16&lang=en-GB] .

The highest elevations are the mountains Televrin (also called Osoršćica) (588 m) and Sv. Nikola (557 m). The towns of Nerezine and Sveti Jakov lie at their base. The island is formed predominantly of chalk limestone and dolomite rocks. There are sand deposits in the western part of the Kurila peninsula.

forests.

History

Settlement on nearby Cres is known to date back around 12,000 years [http://www.puntakriza.com/hist-eng.htm] , and the island of Lošinj is also thought to have been inhabited since prehistoric times. This is evidenced by hill-forts at the foot of Osoršćica and around the port of Mali Lošinj. According to Ptolemy, the Romans called this island "Apsorrus" [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/_Texts/Ptolemy/2/15*.html] , and referred to the islands of Lošinj and Cres collectively as "Apsirtides". In several places, ruins of Roman villas have been excavated (villae rusticae: Liski, Sveti Jakov, and Studenčić near Ćunski). Several small eremitic churches dating from the Roman era have been preserved (St. Lovreć near Osor, and St. James in Sveti Jakov).In the Middle Ages, Lošinj was the property of the clerical and secular nobility of Osor and unpopulated.

The first evidence of settlers from the mainland was in 1280. Pursuant to a contract with Osor, their settlements gained self-governance in 1389. The name Lošinj was first mentioned in 1384. Parallel with the gradual decline of Osor from the 15th century onwards, the settlements Veli Lošinj and Mali Lošinj played an increasingly important role.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, trade, shipbuilding and seafaring on the island developed more intensely. After the fall of the Republic of Venice, Lošinj was under Austro-Hungarian rule until its collapse in 1918; then under Italy until 1943. In 1945 the island and the rest of Croatia became part of Yugoslavia, until Croatia declared independence from the Yugoslav Federation in 1991.

The post-Second World War period saw a substantial exodus of its Italian-speaking population to Italy and to other countries, due to their unwillingness to live under Yugoslav rule. These expatriates today are a vibrant 'community' living in Italy and around the world, and publish a newsletter [http://www.lussinpiccolo-italia.net] which keeps their memories and traditions alive.

People and art

* Agostino Straulino (b. October 10, 1914 in Mali Lošinj; d. December 14, 2004 in Rome) was an Italian sailor and sailboat racer, who won one Olympic gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics (Helsinki) and one silver medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics (Melbourne) in the Star class, and eight consecutive European championships (1949-56) and two world championships (1952-53) in this class and was world champion in the 5.5m-class. His first experiences were sailing in the Kvarner Gulf, and he learned to sail going to school in his boat [http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_81.shtml] .
* Gaudentius of Ossero: Born c. 1000 AD and presided over the Diocese of Ossero (Osor) as bishop and later became a saint and patron of the island. Legend has it that he banished all venomous snakes from the islands while hiding in a cave from his persecutors. His remains now lie in the altar of the church bearing his name in Osor.

* The Cosulich family of shipbuilders originated in Lošinj probably prior to the 1700s and rose to prominence in the region, eventually establishing a successful shipping business in Venice and around the world, where the Cosulich Line became renowned.

* The Croatian Apoxyomenos: (the "Scraper") is a bronze statue that dates back to the 1st or 2nd century BC. This type of figure was first developed by the Greek sculptor Lysippos of the 4th century BC. It was discovered underwater in the Lošinj archipelago near the uninhabited island of Vele Orjule. The Lošinj Channel was a frequent navigational route leading to the northern part of the Adriatic, to Istria and Italy. It is believed to be from a Roman shipwreck although there are no other apparent remnants [Marie-Eve Sténuit, Robert Sténuit, Marijan Orlić, Smiljan Gluščevi; A preliminary report on the discovery and recovery of a bronze apoxyomenos, off Vele Orjule, Croatia, "International Journal of Nautical Archaeology", 30(2), 2001, 196-210.] . Apoxyomenos is one of the Greek conventions in representing an athlete, caught in the familiar act of scraping sweat and dust from his body with the small curved instrument that the Greeks called a strigil. The statue now resides temporarily in the Archeological Museum in Zagreb while the Lošinj museum where it is to be permanently housed from 2009 undergoes renovation [http://www.tz-malilosinj.hr/Destination.aspx?lang=en-GB&IzbornikId=72&id=2 ] .

References