Island of Pag Culture & history

Due mainly to its profusion of salt, the Island of Pag is littered with conquests and battles. Many nations and cultures have occupied this Dalmatian treasure and left Pag with a profusion of legacies and cultural influences. The earliest evidence of civilisation was discovered when tools and weapons from the early Stone Age period were unearthed on and off the island’s shoreline.
The Island of Pag history continues in the Bronze Age, when the Liburnians arrived, the largest of several Illyrian tribes living on the Island of Pag until conquered by the Romans in 1 BC. Evidence of the Liburnians rule can be found at the ruins of a fort and necropolis in Mihovilje near Novalja. The Romans then ruled for seven centuries, building three impressive basilicas and fortifying the towns of Caska, Novalja and Kosljun amongst others. It wasn’t until the 7th century that the Croats arrived on Pag Island, later divided between the Rab population in the north and the Zadar community in the south. Clashes between the two cultures continued through the Middle Ages until the Venetians took control until the end of the 18th century. When Napolean defeated the Republic of Venice, the island fell under Austrian rule for seven years, followed by French control for 10 years. Austrian rule returned to Pag from 1815until 1918, followed by German-Italian occupation during the Second World War. In 1945 the island was returned to partisan hands and in 1991, following the fall of Yugoslavia, the Island of Pag finally became part of the independent Republic of Croatia.