VINODOL VALLEY

Bribir, Grižane, Drivenik, Tribalj

The green, fertile Vinodol valley, situated between the steep steps of the Karst littoral mountains in the northwest and a gentler northeastern crest, unveils its stratified history through records, events, legends and achievements. It recalls the periods of its importance, recalls the dynamic times when civilization, cultural and spiritual Vinodol features, worthy of national value were created. It looks at what once used to be port piers, today famous tourist centres, and recalls also the recent times of its seclusion and “minor importance”, to present with satisfaction and selfconsciousness a preserved and pure landscape, permeated by peace and a rich heritage. And it is exactly this story on heritage and preserved nature, spirituality and ecology, that Vinodol offers to travellers as symbols of its tourist offering. Old villages and towns, defensive forts, towers and castles, sacral buildings and treasuries, traditional rural architecture, glagolithic inscriptions, local collections, art ateliers, painters’ and sculptors’ creations, heritage are inseparably linked to green meadows, to the Tribalj accumulation lake, to pools and the river Dubračina, to Slani potok; here one can find wooded spaces and marked peaks, wine routes and local gastronomic offerings.

WHERE TO START FROM ?

A slow-pace tour of the entire area of Vinodol, from Križišće to Novi Vinodol (and Crikvenica), may be made in one day, and the shorter sections are even more pleasant. The best advice is to set out to the main centres: Bribir (300m), Grižane (248m), Drivenik (181m), Tribalj and make a tour of the numerous sights taking the easy “path of chapels and castles”. In Drivenik, there is a fortified town and a castle (13th century), the church of St. Dujam (renovated in 1821), the gothic chapel of St. Stjepan (13th/15th century). In Tribalj, the church of Pohođenja Blažene Djevice Marije Elizabeti (1804) should be visited, turning then for Belgrad, to St. Mihovil and the church of Majke Bo je Snježne (1611, valuable organ, glagolithic inscriptions, wonderful views of Vinodol and the island of Krk). In Grižane, one should stop in the church of St. Martin (1611), in order to see the monument erected to female water carriers, St. Rok’s chapel and the Church of St. Ana. In the Bribir area, visit the Church of St. Martin in Podskoči (glagolithic inscriptions, 1526) and the parish church of St. Peter and Paul (1524), the stronghold (1302) and the chapel of St. Stjepan and St. Antun Pustinjak. Choose resting places yourself and you will not fail if you choose some of the local, well distributed inns (eating houses). Other paths head to “Gora”, “Planina” and they offer new excitements. Once upon a time, Gora, the Grižane and the Bribir Gora, was an area of summer pasture and agricultural works, today it is a pleasant rest area offering impressive views in a unique natural environment where the white limestone is in contrast with the coniferous wood. Paths have been traced already from the sea coast, but due to the strenuous climb across the mountain ridge, we suggest that you start from the Vinodol localities. The peaks of Viševica, Kobiljak, Medviđak and Zagradski vrh are some of the destination points.

Recommendation:
Bribir cheese, Bribir «prisnac», pickled cabbage
Honey and bee products, fruits of edible plants.
Vinodol has been proposed for the category of significant landscape protection.
Flora: Kvarner-Liburnian: the littoral Drypetum jacquenianae and the Croatian Aristolochia croatica, orchids, swampy orchids (Orchis laxiflora)
Fauna: 35 species of nesting birds, 23 species of dragonflies (50% of the County species), the endemic Karst doormouse (Eliomys quercinus dalmaticus)

 

	Estimated time required: - Path «Kurinska staza», Bribir - Kurin - Zagradski vrh 4 hours - Bribir - Kurin 2 hours - Ravno - Zagradski vrh 1 hour - Drivenik - Medviđak 3 to 4 hours - Grižane - Medviđak 3 hours - Ravno - Viševica 2 hours - Bribir - Štale - peak Slipice (belvedere on Vinodol valley 45 minutes - Tribalj - Vele Bašunje - Tić 2 hours
	We recommend that you procure the prospectus and the Vinodol map
	Novi Vinodolski Municipality Tourism Office phone 051/248 730 tzo-vinodolske@ri.t-com.hr www.vinodol.org