Mljet National Park celebrates 59th birthday

Mljet (Photo: Ivan Bagic)

MJLET, 11 November 2019 – One of Croatia’s most stunning national parks celebrates its 59th birthday today. 

On November 11, 1960, the north-west part of the island of Mljet was declared a national park with the renowned researcher and academic Branimir Gušić a great contributor to its protection status.

Mljet National Park includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea belt 500 m wide from the most prominent cape of Mljet covering an area of 54 km2. The central parts of the park are Veliko jezero with the Isle of St. Mary, Malo jezero and the villages of Govedari, Polače, and Pomena.

Birthday celebrations began last month in October with the Mljet Outdoor Festival and Open Doors Day, as well as the presentation of autochthonous vine varieties in Mljet and the opening of an exhibition focusing on caves on the island of Mljet. 

Mljet

The entire surface area of the park is extremely rich with life, and numerous endemic and endangered species are a testament of the importance of protecting it. The Mljet NP will not disappoint the fans of cultural heritage either, thanks to its numerous archaeological finds and the heritage of our ancestors present in the old island settlements.

The Benedictine monastery located at one of the most beautiful locations in these areas, on the island of St. Mary on Veliko jezero is also the most visited location of the National Park.

Mljet (Photo: Goran Safarek)

Celebrations continue with an exhibition of underwater photographs of the island of Mljet and a lecture titled “Secrets of the Seabed of the Island of Mljet” are planned at the S. S. Kranjčević Library in Zagreb on 25 November.