Get to know the famous traditional Croatian boat – unique in the Mediterranean
- by croatiaweek
- in News
Komiža (Photo: Boris Kragić)
Get to know the unique boat in the Mediterranean at the workshop on the occasion of the holiday of St. Nicholas and Day of the city of Komiža
Feast of St. Nicholas will soon be celebrated in all parts of Croatia, but in his honor, only in one island town overlooking the open sea, flames of fire will write a message of hope addressed to the favorite saint.
It is a place that is protected from all winds, which makes it the warmest place in Croatia in winter.
It is, of course, Komiža, a place with a thousand-year-old fishing tradition, whose inhabitants will traditionally burn their oldest old wooden boat so that, by making this sacrifice, they can still hope for the protection of St. Nicholas, whom they worship as the protector of sailors, but also of their city.
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
(Photo: Arhiva Udruge Palagruža)
And while the fire will turn the ship, which was worn out by time, into ashes, the efforts to preserve the recognizable symbol of Komiža, the offalkono gajeta, better known as the falkuša, will come to the fore at the workshops of the Palagruza Association , where from 6th to 8th December, it will be possible to follow its creation and movement into a new life.
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
The workshops “Ofalkono gajeta-falkuša od kolumbe do idra” are part of the diverse program of the City of Komiža and TZ of the city of Komiža, which will be an opportunity for the islanders to cheerfully step into the holiday month, and for visitors a reason to board the ferry to the island of Vis and start the Advent celebration by getting to know the many peculiarities of Komiža, such as the most famous Croatian traditional boat in the world, the Komižan falkuša
(Photo: Arhiva Udruge Palagruža)
OFALKONO GAJETA – FALKUŠA IS A UNIQUE SHIP IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
Ofalkono gajeta, known as falkuša, is a unique boat in the Mediterranean due to its multifunctionality and the ability to be quickly converted from a sailing boat to a fishing boat.
In the past, numerous falkuša with fishermen from Komiža raced towards the open sea fishing area of Palagruža, sailing and rowing to the 42 NM distant Palagruža island, in order to compete for the best fishing position and salting fish on the small beach of Palagruža island.
(Photo: Arhiva Udruge Palagruža)
With this demanding undertaking, they proved that they have the richest experience and knowledge related to maritime culture in the Adriatic, and in honor of this centuries-old tradition, the attractive and well-attended “Rota Palagruzona Regatta” is held every year in June.
With the advent of modern developments, wooden boats were increasingly replaced by plastic boats, and the rich maritime heritage was on the verge of extinction.
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
In order to prevent the falkuša from completely disappearing from the port of Komiža, it is protected as an intangible cultural asset of the Republic of Croatia. The Palagruza Association is one of the bearers of the traditions – the experiences of the falkuša gajeta, that is, the folk values related to the Komižan falkuša gajeta (the arts of construction, sailing, navigation, fishing and language).
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
With the aim of nurturing traditional tools, crafts and customs, the Palagruza Association has been operating for a number of years, and in addition to numerous activities of co-organizing the renewed “Rota Palagruzona Regatta”, documenting traditional boats, guest appearances at domestic and foreign regattas and sea festivals, it launched an extremely important project for the education of young people under the collective name ” Palagruzone Barracks “ which includes more than 30 different workshops related to Komiža’s cultural and maritime heritage, which all together form a rich cultural heritage that is passed on to young people.
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
By connecting older members of Komiža’s population, especially experienced Komiža fishermen, and encouraging them to transfer knowledge and skills, the Palagruza Association works dedicatedly to preserve heritage, but also to create an authentic tourist offer that provides guests with a precious feeling of rapprochement with the local community.
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
HOW WILL THE WORKSHOPS “OFALKONO GAJETA-FALKUŠA OD KOLUMBE DO IDRA” LOOK LIKE
The workshops “Ofalkono gajeta-falkuša od kolumbe do idra”, which will be held from 6th to 8th December in Komiža’s Komuna, will interactively involve young participants from 6 years of age in the learning system, which consists of all the structural parts of the gajeta and the systems for sailing.
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
By connecting the preparatory structural parts with screws, participants will get to know the names of each part of the construction of gajeta, and then the way of building a traditional boat. After gajeta is assembled, it will be ready for the part of education dedicated to equipping it with sails and the application of various knots necessary for sailing.
In this way, skills will be mastered such as: the names of the structural parts of the gajeta, the method of processing and building the gajeta, and in some future workshops the participants will have to master more tasks: preparation and installation of mast and sails, application of knots on the gajeta, methods of sailing and rowing, application and use of fishing tools for catching and salting sardines.
(Photo: Arhiva Udruge Palagruža)
“These workshops are part of our continuous educational program through which the Palagruza Association strives to positively influence the overall revitalization of the tradition related to the ofalkono gajeta and its preservation and, more importantly, to encourage the younger generations to start their own crafts and companies related to the construction and maintenance of the ofalkono gajeta, equipping the ship, work in the tourist sector, and ultimately to continue taking care of the rich cultural heritage that we inherited from our ancestors,” emphasizes the president of the Palagruza Association, Miro Cvitković.
(Photo: Arhiva Udruge Palagruža)
PHOTO EXHIBITION ON PALAGRUA AND LECTURE ON MARITIME HERITAGE PROMOTION
In addition to the workshop “Ofalkono gajeta-falkuša od Kolumbe do Idra”, the Palagruza Association will contribute to the program of the celebration of St. Nicholas with two more events. Before the first workshop, the exhibition of the legendary Split photographer Boris Kragić will be opened.
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
In his 60-year long career and an impressive number of 80 exhibitions, he also added the photo exhibition “Na Palagružu, na Palagružu”, which will be available for viewing in Komuna, starting from 6th December. Boris Kragić has been a member of the Palagruza Association since its foundation and accompanies the association on all trips and festivals.
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
With this exhibition, we will return to the first “Rota Palagruzona” in 2010 and the first landing on Palagruža. It will be a summary of fifteen years of cooperation to preserve this unique experience, stories about people, ships, heritage, tradition and the mythical Palagruža island.
(Photo: Arhiva Udruge Palagruža)
The opening of the exhibition will be completed by the klapa Gabine from Kaštela, in which the klapa leader and the first tenor are members of the Palagruza Association, and as part of its activities, they have been promoting klapa songs at sea festivals for years.
(Photo: Arhiva Udruge Palagruža)
At another important place for the social life of the people of Komiža, in the Ivan Vitić Cultural Center, the Palagruza Association is organizing a lecture by Silvija Jacić, a Zagreb promoter of Croatian cultural tourism and heritage who specializes in the promotion of maritime heritage.
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
In a lecture with a workshop entitled “Importance and challenges of promoting maritime heritage”, presented will be examples of multi-year cooperation with Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo “Kuća o batana – Casa della batana” from Rovinj-Rovigno, which is on the UNESCO list of best heritage practices, Ecomuseum Moščenićka Draga, which successfully interprets the rich fishing and maritime heritage of Kvarner through the component “Štorija od mora” and the museum “House of the Sea” and with the Tourist Board of the town Bakra, which, by emphasizing the glorious past of Bakar, tries to tear away the wealth of its heritage stories from the dominance of the industrial stigma that the city has been carrying for decades.
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
(Photo: Boris Kragić)
All programs of the Palagruza Association are free, and no announcement is required.
