BraÃÂ is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, with an area of , making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. It is separated from the mainland by the BraÃÂ Channel, which is wide. The island's tallest peak, Vidova gora, stands at , making it the highest point of the Adriatic islands. The island has a population of 13,931, making it also by population the largest island in Dalmatia and the third largest in the Adriatic. The island is divided in eight municipal units with twenty-two settlements, ranging from the main town Supetar, with more than 3,300 inhabitants, to Murvica, where less than two dozen people live. BraÃÂ Airport is the largest airport of all islands surrounding Split.
Braàis known as a tourist destination, for the Zlatni Rat beach in Bol, the marina in Milna, the white limestone which was used for the palace of Diocletian, the stonemason school in PuÃÂià ¡ÃÂa, the Charter of Povlja, author and first president of Croatia Vladimir Nazor, its olive oil with protected designation of origin, the KopaÃÂina cave near Donji Humac with archaeological findings dating to the 12th millennium BCE, the Blaca hermitage, and other sites.
Braà() is known in some of its local Chakavian dialects as Broà(). In or and . The Greek name of the island was (Elaphousa/Elaphussa), apparently derived from elaphos ("stag"). Based on this, it has been speculated that the original name of the island may have been derived from Messapic *brentos ("stag"). The Messapic word is deduced from a gloss "brendon â elaphon [deer]". Polybius and Plinius record the name of the island as Brattia. Other names through history for Braàhave been Brectia, Bractia, Brazia, Elaphusa, Bretanide and Krateiai (in the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, identification unsure).
Stephanus of Byzantium writes in the 6th century in his Ethnica of Brettia: <blockquote>Brettia, Island in the Adriatic Sea, with a river called Brettios. Greeks call it Elaphussa, the inhabitants Brettanis. The ethnicon should be Brettians, given how Polybios uses the Femininum. Today it is called Brettians. </blockquote>
Braàis with an area of the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest island in the Adriatic Sea overall. The island is roughly oval-shaped, being almost wide from east to west, and about north to south. Braàhas a long and folded coastline with a length of more than , with numerous small and larger bays. Particularly noticeable are the natural harbours of Supetar, Splitska, PuÃÂià ¡ÃÂa, and Povlja, Sumartin, Milna and Bobovià ¡ÃÂa.
Braàis separated from the mainland to the north by the BraàChannel, which is wide and down to 78m deep. To the north it faces Split and Omià ¡. To the east it is separated from the mainland by a continuation of the Braàchannel, with distances between at Baà ¡ka voda up to at Makarska. To the south it faces the neighbouring island of Hvar, separated by the Hvar Channel with a maximal depth of 91m. The closest distance is between Murvica and the northern beaches of Hvar with less than , up to about at the east and west ends of BraÃÂ. To the west, it is separated from the island of à  olta by the Split Gates, which is about 800m wide. The uninhabited islet of Mrduja lies in the Split Gates. In an annual event, people from Braàand people from à  olta play a game of tug of war over the islet.
The island has been called the island without water (), but it does have a small number of sweet water springs. Most of the water needs to be brought from the mainland from the Cetina river through a pipe. An artificial tunnel has been built from the northern side of the island through the mountain to the south side, in order to allow the pipe to continue and serve not only Bol and Murvica, the two sole settlements on the southern side of the island, but also to continue to the neighbouring island Hvar.
The island is more rugged and mountainous than any of the other Dalmatian islands. The island's tallest peak, Vidova gora, or Mount St. Vid, stands at , making it the highest island point of the Adriatic islands. The south side of the island is particularly steep, as the distance from the beach to the Vidova Gora peak in only about â and up. The steepness of the south side makes the many natural bays hard to reach. Because of that, the south side of the island only has two settlements, Bol and tiny Murvica. It also makes the south side particularly amenable for vineyards. The east of the island is a high plateau. Until the Middle Ages, most of the population lived inland.
The island is mostly made of limestone, which has shaped the history and economy of the island. The limestone originated in the Cretaceous about 100 million years ago, but BraÃÂ became an island only after the last ice age, (within the last 12,000 years, in the Holocene). Due to erosion and sedimentation, the island also has sandstone, breccia, clay, and terra rossa.
The twenty-two populated settlements of Braàare subdivided into eight municipal units (see Administration below for more details). A number of small unincorporated settlements can be found in the Selca municipality, including Nadsela, PodsmrÃÂevik, Osridke, Nakal, and Nagorinac. The island also has a number of abandoned settlements, such as Podhume, Smrka, Straà ¾evnik, Gradac, Dubravica i Moà ¡uje, PodgraÃÂià ¡ÃÂe, and others. Other places of interest are the Blaca hermitage and Drakonjina à ¡pilja.
The island is administratively divided into eight units, one city (a type of municipal unit with a larger town) and seven municipalities. These cover the twenty-two currently populated settlements of the island. Population numbers in the previous section are given per 2021 census. The island is part of the Split-Dalmatia County, but is not represented there as a whole, only through its city and municipalities.
The division into seven municipalities and a city happened after the administrative reorganisation of Croatia following Croatian independence in 1991. Before that, BraÃÂ was a single municipality (opÃÂina) in Yugoslavia with Supetar as the seat of the municipality. Still today, many of the administrative duties for the other seven municipalities are delegated to the city of Supetar.
With the arrival of the Narentines in the seventh or eighth century, the now abandoned Gradac became the first administrative centre of BraÃÂ. Venice declared in the late tenth century that Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa should become the administrative and governmental centre of BraÃÂ. In 1827 this role was given to Supetar by the Austro-Hungarian administration. The island was divided into 21 cadastral communities by the Austro-Hungarian administration - corresponding to the currently existing settlements besides Loà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa, which was a part of Bobovià ¡ÃÂa. These cadastral communities were mostly preexisting administrative units and not introduced by the Austro-Hungarians.
In terms of the Roman Catholic church, the island has 23 parishes: one for each of the settlements, and an additional one for the hermitage Blaca. All parishes of BraÃÂ have been part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hvar-BraÃÂ-Vis, with the seat of the Bishop in Hvar since it was founded in 1145, and belonged previously to the Diocese of Salona.
The KopaÃÂina cave near Donji Humac is one of the oldest traces of human habitation in Dalmatia. And yet, Braàhas been called island without history () by Vladimir Nazor, easily the island's most well known author. Unlike all of the other larger islands, neither the Illyrians (who arrived in the 2nd millennium BCE), nor the Greek (4th century BCE), nor the Romans (1st century CE) have established a larger settlement on the island. It is only well after the Slavs settled (8th century) and the Venetians took over the administration of the island (10th century), that the island saw larger settlements and towns develop. First, Gradac was the administrative centre, which moved to Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa between 937 and 1000, and finally Supetar in 1827.
The history of Braàfollows mostly the history of Dalmatia. Who ruled the island changed frequently. Some, like Rome or Venice, ruled for centuries, others, like the Normans, for a single year. But independently of who ruled the island, the island had an internal autonomous administration as described in the statutes of BraÃÂ, which allowed the island to develop a certain continuity - independently of whether the island was ruled from Byzantium, Vienna, or Paris. More important were the constant attacks by pirates, particularly from the Narentines and later the KaÃÂiàfamily in Omià ¡, which kept Braàin poverty and didn't allow for towns to develop along the coast well into the 15th century.
Archaeological findings in the KopaÃÂina cave between Supetar and Donji Humac have been dated to the 12th millennium BCE. These are some of the oldest traces of human habitation in Dalmatia. The findings show that the cave has been inhabited until the 3rd millennium BCE (although not continuously). Some of the artefacts have originated in the Dalmatian hinterland, showing that BraÃÂ was part of a trade network with the mainland. In the Stone Age, the population seemed to have lived mostly inland.
In the second millennium BCE, the Illyrians moved in from the North and Northeast to the Balkan peninsula, including BraÃÂ. They replaced the previous population.
In the Bronze Age and Iron Age, it is assumed that numerous villages existed. Most of them seemed to have been in the eastern high plane of the island, and thus it is assumed that they lived on animal husbandry. Numerous simple fortifications, mostly built using dry stone constructions, indicate that the population was expecting to defend itself against attacks.
In the 4th century BCE Greek colonisation spread over many Adriatic islands and along the coast, but none of them have been found on BraÃÂ. In à  krip, traditionally known as the oldest existing settlement on the island, old walls have been found built in the Greek style, but it would be the only Greek colony which has been built inland instead along the coast, which is why it is unlikely to be a Greek colony. It remains an open question whether Braàhad any organised Greek colonies, and if it did not, why. Nevertheless, Greeks visited the island and also traded with the Illyrian inhabitants. The toponomy of two of the southern bays still preserve the memory of such a trade: Farska (Hvarska in modern Croatian, referring to the old colony of Pharos on Hvar) and Garà ¡ka (GrÃÂka in modern Croatian, meaning Greek).
Braàlay on the crossroads of several trade routes from Salona (today Solin) to Issa (today Vis) and the Po River. Greek artifacts were found in the bay of ViÃÂja near Loà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa on the estate of the Rakela-Bugre brothers. Many of the objects belonging to this still unexamined site are now on display in the Split Archaeological Museum.
Increased attacks from Illyrians on Greek colonies such as Pharos on neighbouring island Hvar and Roman trade routes lead to a time of upheaval and change that started with the Illyro-Roman Wars in 229 BCE and the establishment of a Roman protectorate covering the surrounding Greek colonies. Over the years, the area increasingly fell under Roman rule, with the establishment of the provinces of Illyricum and Dalmatia 32-27 BCE, including BraÃÂ. More peaceful times finally began after 9 CE, following the end of the Great Illyrian uprising.
Salona became the capital of the new Dalmatia province and, probably because of its proximity to Salona, Romans increased their usage of the island. Signs of Roman habitation are widespread, but they usually are limited to single Roman villas, cisterns, and either near early quarries between à  krip and Splitska or near vineyards and olive orchards. Splitska became the most important harbour to carry stone to Salona and the whole of Dalmatia. It is likely that slaves had to work in the quarries, originally prisoners of wars, but later often from the local population. From 295 to 305 CE, Diocletian's Palace in Split was largely built with limestone that was quarried on BraÃÂ. Also agriculture, especially wine and olives, began in the same era. But no larger town or municipality on Braàthat was inhabited in the Roman era is known today.
Roman walls, villas, sarcophagi, cisterns, and tools for making wine, olive oil, and keeping sheep and goats have been found in or near a number of today's coastal towns, such as Bol, PuÃÂià ¡ÃÂa, Povlja, Supetar, Novo Selo, and the LovreÃÂina bay. In the inland, particularly around Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa, à  krip, Donji Humac, and DraÃÂevica, wine, olives, and figs, as well as sheep and goats were grown. Near à  krip, inscriptions praising the god Liber have been found, near Donji Humac sarcophagi, and near DraÃÂevica coins. Pliny the Elder mentions Braàas for its famous goats in his Naturalis Historia. Numerous water reservoirs (lokva) date to that time, and are still in use.
Some of the artefacts from the early time of Roman rule are devoted to numerous gods from a diverse set of pantheons, most frequently Heracles. Other divine beings for whom devotional objects have been found include Mithra, Jupiter, Jupiter Dolichenus as a form of worship for Baal, Mercury, Neptune, Silvanus, Pan, the Muses, and Liber. Christianity seemed to have arrived on the island only after Constantine's declaration of the Edict of Milan: old Christian churches from the fifth and early sixth century are known in Sutivan, the bay of LovreÃÂina, Saint Andrew (Sveti Jadre) above Splitska, and Saint Theodore (Sveti Tudor) near Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa. No pagan artefacts date newer than the arrival of Christianity on the island.
When the Roman empire split in 395 CE, BraÃÂ became a part of the Western Roman empire as part of Dalmatia. Roman rule over BraÃÂ and Dalmatia survived the Fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE to the Gothic invasion, as emperor Nepos fled to Dalmatia. The Goths conquered Dalmatia after Nepos' assassination in 480 CE.
Gothic rule extended until 555, when Eastern Roman rule over Dalmatia and BraÃÂ was restored by Justinian.
The Pannonian Avars sacked and destroyed Salona in 614 (or 639, according to other sources) and Braàbecame a refuge. The Dalmatian region and its shores were at this time settled by tribes of Croats, a South Slavic people subservient to the Avar khagans, but the Salonans fled to Split, Braàand other islands. Tradition has it that à  krip was founded by refugee Salonans, but the town is actually older than that.
Split and other Dalmatian city-states, together with Braàand other islands, became the remnants of the Roman province of Dalmatia. First, they recognised the rule of the Exarchate of Ravenna, but after the end of the Exarchate due to the Lombards, it became the predecessor to the Theme of Dalmatia, an independent unit recognising the supremacy of the Byzantine empire. Byzantine gold coins have been found near Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa indicating Byzantine rule. This lasted through most of the seventh and eight century.
On the mainland, the South Slavic tribe of the Narentines had founded its own state in the seventh century. Sometime during the eighth or ninth century, the Narentines landed either in harbours near Selca on the east of BraÃÂ, or first went through Hvar and then landed on the Hrvaska bay (Hrvatska, Croatian bay) in the south-west of BraÃÂ. This is still noticeable in a lot of toponyms and even in the different dialects on the island, where the western part of the island retains many of the Roman elements, but the eastern part is more Slavic. By the ninth century, the Narentines had a solid rule over BraÃÂ. BraÃÂ and Hvar and surrounding islands were called the Narentine islands or Maronia. The Narentines, also known as Paganians, were not Christian, bringing a pagan population back to BraÃÂ. The Nerantines used BraÃÂ mostly for animal husbandry.
The likely administrative and political centre of BraÃÂ for the Narentines was Gradac, which is located between Gornji Humac and Selca on the Eastern plateau of BraÃÂ, and which was likely founded by Narentines shortly after their arrival. Today, only ruins are left of Gradac.
At the turn of the eighth to the ninth century, Charlemagne attacked and conquered much of Dalmatia, but not BraÃÂ or the other Narentine islands. Charlemagne returned Dalmatia to the Byzantine empire in 812 during the negotiations for the Pax Nicephori.
The Narentines were frequently attacking Venetian ships. In 837, the Venetian Doge Pietro Tradonico came first to Split, and then to Braàand Hvar to find a way to stop the attacks, first with force, and then with diplomacy. In 839, Venice signed a treaty with the Narentine knez (duke) Druà ¾ko (Drosaico), which was broken within a year.
In 872, Saracene (Arab) raiders from Crete attacked BraÃÂ. It is unclear what exactly they attacked, as the sources speaks of a "". Given that there still was no proper city, it may refer to the Vidova Gora as the highest point of the island, and thus to the area around today's Bol, or it might be a literal translation of Gradac.
Following the Christianisation of the Narentines in 878âÂÂ880, Christianity on Braàgot a new boost. Particularly the Benedictines started to become a dominant influence for the islands sacral life. Andrija Ciccarelli mentions seven monasteries on the island: St Mary (Sv Marija) in Postira, Mirje na Brigu near Postira, St Lawrence (Sv Lovro) in the LovreÃÂina bay, St Stephen (Sv Stipan) in Stipanska luka (Stephen's harbour) in today's PuÃÂià ¡ÃÂa, St Andrew (Sv Jadre) near Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa, and one in Povlja (likely St John the Baptist, Sv Ivan Krstitelj) and near Murvica (possibly the Dragon's cave, Drakonjina à ¡pilja).A number of old Croatian churches were built during the ninth to the twelfth century: St Nicholas (Sv Nikola) above Selca, St Michael (Sv Mihovil) above Dol, St Elias (Sv Ilija) near Donji Humac, St George (Sv Juraj) near Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa, St Clement (Sv Kliment) near Praà ¾nica, St John and Theodore (Sv Ivan i Teodor) in Bol, St George (Sv Juraj) in Straà ¾evnik, St Cosmas and Damian (Sv Kuzma i Damjan) above SmrÃÂevik, Holy Sunday (Sv Nedija) above Gradac, All Saints (Svi Sveti) near Gornji Humac belonging to the village of Moà ¡uja and Dubravica.
Dujam Hrankoviàlists a number of old Croatian towns on the eastern plateau of BraÃÂ, which do not exist today anymore: Gradac, Moà ¡uje and Dubravica, Straà ¾evnik, Pothume, and PodgraÃÂià ¡ÃÂe. The houses of that time usually had one single, rectangular room, were built with dry wall construction, with the door facing south. They often feature the tools necessary for animal husbandry, have a cistern, a fireplace, an oven, olive mills, wine presses, and wheat grinder.
Around 923, Tomislav of Croatia, Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII and the two church patriarchs were involved a deal that transferred the control of the Byzantine Dalmatian cities to the new Croatian kingdom, which according to VrsaloviÃÂ included BraÃÂ. But following Tomislav's death, Croatia weakened, and in the 940s, the islands of BraÃÂ and Hvar seceded during Ban Pribina's rebellion and rejoined the Narentine state.
In 1000 CE, the Venetian doge Pietro II Orseolo decided to finally pacify Dalmatia and the Narentines. Venice conquered Braàin the same year, and according to the Braàchronicler Andrea Ciccarelli, they immediately built a palace in Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa to serve as a court, for administration, as an archive, and for council meetings. This moved the centre of power from the Slavic Gradac in the east of the island to the Roman Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa. Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa remained the administrative centre of the island for more than eight centuries, until 1823 when the Austro-Hungarian empire moved it to Supetar.
Doge Pietro II Orseolo also received Stephen as a hostage, the son of the Croatian king Svetoslav Suronja. Stephen later married the daughter of the Doge, Joscella Orseolo. Their son Peter followed Stephen to become King of Croatia in 1058, as Peter Kreà ¡imir IV. Early in his reign, Peter expanded Croatia to its largest extend, also including Braàand the other islands.
An attack by Normans from the south of Italy in 1075 lead to the capture of a number of Dalmatian cities and islands, including BraÃÂ. The Normans were invited by the Dalmatian cities in order to protect them from Croatian influence. Venice attacked and conquered the Norman possessions in 1076.
In 1102, Coloman, King of Hungary unified the crown of Hungary with the crown of Croatia. The Life of St Christopher the Martyr says that a Hungarian fleet subjugated several Dalmatian islands, including BraÃÂ. In 1107, emperor Alexios I gave the Dalmatian theme, including BraÃÂ, to Coloman to administer in the name of the Byzantine empire. The fleet of Venice, commanded by Doge Ordelafo Faliero, invaded Dalmatia in August 1115 and retook the islands. In an attack in either 1117 or 1118, during which Doge Ordelafo Faliero himself died, the Hungarians retook Dalmatia. The new doge, Domenico Michele, invaded and reconquered Dalmatia. In 1124, Stephen II of Hungary invaded Dalmatia, but were reconquered by Venetia soon after. Either Stephen II's son Béla II in 1136, but latest his son Géza II in 1142, again regained sovereignty over Split and other parts of Dalmatia for Hungary.
In the 1140s, Split was under Hungarian control, and Braàand Hvar were under Venetian control, probably recently conquered. Venice asked the Catholic church to establish Braàand Hvar as its own diocese and take it off from Split and thus Hungarian control. Venice further arranged for the diocese of Zadar (which was under Venetian control) to be raised to an archdiocese, and for the newly formed diocese of the islands to be subject to Zadar. In 1147, Braàand Hvar elected Marin Manzavin from Zadar to become the first Bishop of Hvar, and they chased archpriest Cernat from Split off the island. Soon after a palace in Bol was available for the Bishop, where he could reside when he was on BraÃÂ. The leader of the church of Braàwas the archpriest in Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa, elected by the priests of the island's parishes and confirmed by the bishop in Hvar.
In 1145, pirates from Omià ¡ under the KaÃÂiàfamily attacked Braàfor the first time. This seems to be a continuation of the pirate attacks of the Narentines, who were located in the same area. The attack robbed the Benedictine abbey in Povlja, and killed the monks. In the following decades, the attacks by Omià ¡ pirates would increase in frequency, suppressing any development of towns along the coast of BraÃÂ.
In 1164, Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos started a war against King Stephen III of Hungary and succeeds in gaining control over Dalmatia, letting Venice administer the area. Counterattacks by Stephen are withouts success. Only after the death of emperor Manuel I in 1180, Stephen's brother and successor as King of Hungary, Béla III, was able to take control of Dalmatia again, seemingly without bloodshed and with support of Byzantine authorities, who seemed to now prefer Hungarian over Venetian rule. A peace treaty was signed in 1186 between Béla III and emperor Isaac II Angelos, which led to the empire formally giving up its claim over Dalmatia.
A document from 1184 survived as a copy, the Charter of Povlja written in 1250. This is one of the oldest Croatian linguistic records. It discusses some landownership of the Benedictine monaster of St John in Povlja. It mentions the roles of the knez (lord or prince) of Braà(a certain BreÃÂko), the à ¾upan (administrative head, elder), a judge, and bailiffs. Vrsaloviàthinks it likely that this administrative structure is rooted already in Narentine times and had endured and evolved throughout the many changes and conquests of the island. The island was never rich or strategically interesting enough to justify serious intervention. When the ruler of the island changed, the new rulers often simply confirmed the statutes of Braàand the freedoms and rights of the islanders. Sometimes they even negotiated for more rights. The fact that the document was written in Croatian, and not in Latin or Hungarian, is also a testament to the autonomy of the island, which was developed independently and peacefully despite the wars waged by Hungary, Venice, and Byzantium.
With Béla III controlling Zadar, Split, Hvar and BraÃÂ, the Archbishop of Split intervened with the Pope for the Diocese of Hvar and Braàto be moved from Zadar to Split. The Papal legate Thebaldus ruled in 1181 in favour of Split, but Zadar didn't want to give up so lightly. After the death of the first bishop Martin Manzavin, the islands elected his nephew Nicolas as the new bishop, but the Metropolitan of Split didn't confirm Nicloas. Nicolas went to Verona to Pope Lucius III, who confirmed him directly. Pope Celestine III decided with a papal bull in 1192 that the diocese of Hvar should be subject to the Archdiocese of Split. Nicolas remained Bishop of Hvar until 1198, when he assumed the vacant Archbishopry in Zadar, against the will of Pope Innocence III, for which Nicolas was suspended.>
In 1217, Béla's son and, King Andrew II of Hungary, landed the southern side of Braànear today's Bol on his way to the Fifth Crusade. He was greeted by the Lord of Braà(knez), representatives of the Braàcouncil, and the Bishop of Hvar.
In the meantime, the pirate attacks from the Omià ¡' KaÃÂiàfamily became worse. In 1220, Braàpleaded for help from King Andrew II. The king answered with an order to knez MalduàKaÃÂiàto cease the attacks, threatening his whole family. In 1221, Pope Honorius III sent legate Aconcius to prevent piracy, and in 1222, the pope sought help from residents of Dubrovnik against the Omià ¡ pirates.
In 1221, King Andrew II gifts the islands of BraÃÂ, Hvar, KorÃÂula, and Lastovo to Henry and Servidon Frankopan in recognition for their services. It is unclear in what way and for how long they enjoyed their gift, but before 1240 Braàhad elected Osor KaÃÂiàas their new knez (Lord), and on neighbouring Hvar had his brother Pribislav as knez. Braàand Hvar hoped that by having the sons of knez MalduàKaÃÂiàrule over the island, the pirate attacks would cease. But Osor didn't accept the statutes of BraÃÂ, but he demanded full control of the island. The people of Braàstarted conspiring with Garganus, the potestas of Split, and promised him that a person from Split would become the new knez if Split helped Braàagainst Osor KaÃÂiÃÂ. In 1240, Split starts a war against Omià ¡, and although the attack on Omià ¡ is without success, they manage to capture BraÃÂ. On May 19, 1240, Braàformally recognises the Split rule.
This did not last long. The son and successor of Andrew II, King Béla IV, had to flee from his capital when Mongols attacked Hungary. Kadan, a son of Great Khan ÃÂgödei, chased Béla from town to town in Dalmatia. Béla took refugee in Split, but was unhappy with his welcome in the city, and then left for the well-fortified Trogir. Before Kadan laid siege to Trogir in March, news arrived of the Great Khan's death. Batu Khan wanted to attend at the election of ÃÂgödei's successor with sufficient troops and ordered the withdrawal of all Mongol forces. Béla, who was grateful to Trogir, granted it lands near Split, causing a lasting conflict between the two Dalmatian towns, and also took Braàaway from Split and granted it to Hvar on May 10, 1242.
The quarrel between Split and Trogir escalated to an armed conflict in 1244, and BraÃÂ, indebted to Split for the help against Osor KaÃÂiÃÂ, joined Split. Eventually, Trogir won that conflict, and on March 3, 1253, they signed a peace treaty and had to pay 100 lira to Trogir.
One night in July 1277, Omià ¡ pirates landed in the bay of St George (Sv Juraj) on the northern side of the island, and proceeded all the way to Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa. There they laid fire to the buildings of the Braàadministration. This also destroyed the archives of the island, so that most of the early documentation about the history of Braàwas lost.
Following this attack, and the obvious inability of the Hungarian king to stop the incessant pirate attacks, the people of Braàand Hvar sent à  imun (Simon), Bishop of Hvar and BraÃÂ, to Venice to negotiate that the two islands would come under the supremacy of Venice, in return for protection. On April 1, 1278, the Great council of Venice votes to accept the plea. Venetian administration took over on July 21, 1278, with the knez being appointed by Venice, originally for four years, but that was shortened to two years after the term of the first Venetian expired in 1282.
Venice took the task of protecting Braàmore serious. In 1280 they attacked and conquered Omià ¡ itself, in order to stop the attacks, but the pirates managed to flee from the Venetians, and continued their attacks on BraÃÂ, Hvar, and now Omià ¡ itself as well. In 1282, one armed ship with eighty oars was assigned to Braàand Hvar. But the attacks continued, and Venice ordered on September 22, 1292, that Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa, as the administrative capital, should be fortified with a wall, but that never happened. In 1294, another devastating attack on the monastery in Povlja happened.
Due to the 1277 attack on and fire in Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa, Braàwas left without a written form of its statutes (laws). On bequest of the Braànobility, knez Marino Falerio (who later became Doge of Venice) ordered in 1305 for the statutes of Braàto be rewritten. Copies of the statutes are preserved.
As the Venetian rule didn't lead to the peace that Braàhoped for, Braàstopped recognising knez Giovanni Soranzo (who later became Doge of Venice) in 1309, and thus Venetian supremacy. Venice orders the knez of Zadar and the knez of Dubrovnik to come to the help to the knez of BraÃÂ, which leads to a proper uprising in 1310 under the lead of the family Slavogost and with help from Omià ¡. Juraj Slavogost is elected as captain by the nobility of BraÃÂ, whereas Venice sends Andrea Goro as the new knez. Goro and his troops manage to capture Slavogost, and send him to Venice, thus retaining the islands under Venetian control.
In 1317, Venice gives to more ships to BraÃÂ and Hvar, one with thirty oars, the other with seventy to eighty oars. In 1334, another ship with eighty oars is given, another in 1346. The pirate attacks could not be stopped, and in the second half of the fourteenth century the monastery in Povlja was abandoned.
BraÃÂ lived on agriculture and animal husbandry, forestry, stone quarrying, and trade with the nearby islands and coastal towns. Wheat and lentils were scarce, and there was not enough of it to feed the population of the island. Therefore, their export was prohibited. Agricultural produce included wheat, oat, olives, figs, pears, apples, walnuts, mulberries, and other fruits. Animal husbandry focused mostly on sheep and goats, but also a few cows and bulls, mules, and donkeys. In order to help with having enough water, artificial pools (called lokva in Croatian, lacus clausus in Latin) were created, mostly in the eastern plateau. Around the end of the 14th and early in the 15th century, beekeeping also started to develop. Fishery was not developed, mostly due to the pirate situation.
In 1356, King Louis I of Hungary marched against Dalmatia, and he quickly conquered many towns and islands. With the Treaty of Zadar on February 18, 1358, BraÃÂ returned under Hungarian rule.
Louis names Jakov de Cessani to be new knez of BraÃÂ and Hvar, adding KorÃÂula to his possessions in 1362. The territories of the knez grow in the following decades, and the individual islands, including BraÃÂ, get a vikar to administer them locally. The knez is usually also a Hungarian admiral. Split immediately asked for BraÃÂ to become a part of Split, but the Ban of Croatia did not accept the request.
The oldest mention of the plague reaching BraÃÂ is from 1360, but on this first time it was stopped swiftly. It would return to BraÃÂ repeatedly, often doing considerable damage. In the same year, the island also suffered a large swarm of locusts, fortunately after the harvest.
With the successors of King Louis I, Hungary weakened. King Tvrtko I of Bosnia used that weakness, attacked King Sigismund of Hungary in Croatia and Dalmatia in 1389, and in 1390, together with the whole region, Braàaccepted Bosnian rule. Three members of the Braànobility, Juraj Dujmov, Nikà ¡a Petruli, and Miajlo Baloj, traveled to the court of King Tvrtko in Kraljeva Sutjeska to ask him to confirm the rights and statutes of BraÃÂ, which he did on September 23, 1390. Tvrtko died in the following year, in 1391, and his brother and successor, King Stephen Dabià ¡a was forced to give up the claims over Croatia and Dalmatia back to King Sigismund of Hungary in 1393.
In 1403, Ladislaus of Naples attacked and conquered Zadar and was crowned King of Hungary on August 5, 1403. His rule did not extend beyond some parts of Dalmatia. A delegation from BraÃÂ, Nikà ¡a Petruli and Mihovil BaloeviÃÂ, traveled to Zadar in order to get the statute of Braàconfirmed, which King Ladislaus did on August 14, 1403. He gifted the island to Alviz and Guidona de Matafaris, and he returned to Naples the same year. Before he left, he raised Hrvoje VukÃÂiàHrvatiniàas the Duke of Split and his deputy for Dalmatia, including BraÃÂ.
For 1405, Dujam Hrankoviàlists in the chronicle "Opis otoka BraÃÂa" (Description of the island BraÃÂ) the following settlements: in the East, Gornji Humac, Straà ¾evnik, Podhume, Moà ¡uljica, Dubravica, Gradac, and PodgraÃÂià ¡ÃÂe (of which only one, Gornji Humac, still survived to the seventeenth century); in the centre Praà ¾nice and Dol, and in the West Donji Humac, Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa, and à  krip (of which all settlements survived). Other settlements were left before 1405 mostly due to pirate attacks, which includes the abbey in Povlja, Stipanska luka and Dolac in today's PuÃÂià ¡ÃÂa, Bol and the buildings of the bishop, and Rasohatica on the South. The chronicle states that the island has a population of about 6,000.
In 1408, after King Sigismund managed to beat the Bosnian army, Hrvoje allies with Sigismund and so retains control over Dalmatia. Ladislaus then sells BraÃÂ and all of Dalmatia to Venice for 100,000 Ducats on September 9, 1409, but the power over Dalmatia remains with Duke Hrvoje and thus King Sigismund. On June 17, 1413, King Sigismund removes the islands, including BraÃÂ, from the control of Duke Hrvoje and gives them to the Republic of Dubrovnik, to administer them in his name. King Sigismund informs the people of BraÃÂ on June 25, 1414, about the new, temporary arrangement. Split also wanted to get BraÃÂ, and offered King Sigismund two galleys, but the King preferred Dubrovnik's offer of 200 ducats every year.
Venice still aimed to make good on the sale of Dalmatia by Ladislaus of Naples. When King Sigismund of Hungary became busy with the Turkish attacks and internal Hungarian strife, Venice sent captain-general Pietro Loredan to conquer Dalmatia. Braàwas conquered in August 1420, and on November 22, 1420, doge Tommaso Mocenigo of Venice confirmed the statutes of Braàto the supplicants. This did not stop the ongoing attacks on Braàfrom Omià ¡, so that a representation from Braàdemanded protection from doge Francesco Foscari, but the attacks from Omià ¡ and Makarska would not be stop until the KaÃÂiàfamily of Omià ¡ sought to become vassals themselves of Venice in 1452. Only with the end of the incessant attacks, people started settling on the coast.
The Black Death hit Braà1425-1427 and then again 1434âÂÂ1436. For 1405, Hrankoviàmentions in his chronicles that Braàhas a population of 6,000 - but after the pandemic, only 2,000 people were still living on the island.
After the Ottoman Empire conquered Bosnia and the death of King Stephen II in 1463, the Bosnian vojvod Ivan and Vladislav HercegoviÃÂ were fleeing from the Ottomans. They asked Venice for BraÃÂ, but the Venetian Senate declined and instead gave them a house in Split and an annual income of 200 Ducats.
Over the coming decades, Braàwas recognized by the Venetian doges for the military help they offered to cities such as Split and Omià ¡, who were under attack by the Ottomans, despite being so poor. Doge Leonardo Loredan mentions in 1511 that Braàsent 22 ships and 400 fighting men to help Split. In 1535 though, the council of nobles in Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa elected Trifo Martiniàto represent the island in front of the Venetian Senate and decline their request to build ships, due to the latest bouts of the plague that lead to a large loss of life on the island. In 1536, a campaign of uskoks led by Petar Kruà ¾iàalso looted on BraÃÂ.
On 17 March 1538, under the leadership of knez Vittorio Michaeli, the great council of BraÃÂ unanimously pleaded to Venice to be allowed to have and arm its own galley (within the Venetian fleet), which they would man themselves and pay for the upkeep. The request was approved. At the Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice, a landing place for the new Galea Brazzana was defined, where to this day the name is inscribed in stone. 200 rowers were needed to man the galley. The galley were several ships, under an ongoing Venetian commission. One shipwreck of the BraÃÂ galley was already mentioned for 11 February 1489 under sopracomitos (captain) Rafael Filippi.
Fewer attacks on the island itself allowed finally for the coast of Braàto be settled. This was sped up by the new settlements sympathising with the uskoks and further reducing attacks. Later the growth was further encouraged by the Venetian doges, who gave nobel refugees, such as the ÃÂikareloviÃÂ-Kukretiàfamily (who later renamed Ciccarelli), money and tax relief. The Venetian representatives reported in the 1550s, that Braàhad twelve settlements, none of them fortified, and all inland. Six of them (Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂe as the main village, as well as Donji Humac, Dol, Praà ¾nice, Moà ¡ulje and Gradac) had their own judge. They list 21 bays, and say that seven of them had a few houses. These become the seeds for the future settlements Bol, Sutivan, Supetar, Splitska, Postira, PuÃÂià ¡ÃÂa, and Povlja. A Venetian report from 1579 lists all of these as settlements (Bol with a population of more than 400 even), but neglects to list Straà ¾evnik, Moà ¡uje, Dubravac, Gradac, and PodgraÃÂià ¡ÃÂe, which we can assume have been abandoned by then. Today, only ruins of those can be found on the eastern plateau of the island.
On 18 April 1596, Juraj LenkoviÃÂ, general of the Croatian Krajina, pleaded pope Clement VIII to send him relief troops from Postira and Sutivan on BraÃÂ, in order to help them fight for Klis against the Turkish occupation. 80 uskoks from BraÃÂ joined the attack on Klis against the wishes of Venice, who were aiming to have a peace with the Turks. They could not hold the fortress long. A reserve of 300 uskoks was kept on BraÃÂ afterwards, who in turn now were attacking Turkish positions into the early 1600s, before a peace between Venice and Turks has been achieved.
The peace held until the War of Candia. Refugees from the Makarska area and from Bosnia and Hercegovina settled particularly on the Eastern part of BraÃÂ. Already in 1645, a number of families founded VrhbraÃÂ, near the ruins of a small church of St. Martin. VrhbraÃÂ was later called Sumartin. Although the older families complained about the refugees, the Venetian administration protected them and gave them privileges, in the hope that they would provide soldiers in their ongoing war with the Turks. The new settlers were usually dealing directly with the Venetian administration instead of the BraÃÂ council. But Venetian mismanagement and corruption have left the island even poorer than usual. A Venetian request in 1667 for 70 soldiers could only be partially fulfilled with 40 soldiers. The privileges of the new settlers were upheld until the French reign more than a hundred years later.
From 1643 to 1648, the galley Braàwas led by elected sopracomitos (captain) Juraj Mladineo. According to report by Superintendent General for Dalmatia and Albania Tommaso Contarini from 28 June 1647, Mladineo defended Split in three battles against the Turks in 1647. Mladineo asked for his five-year term to be prolonged, and doge Francesco Molin approved that request in 1648. Mladineo died in 1651, and the doge wrote to knez Christofor da Canli to ask the great council to elect a new sopracomitos. Mladineo's successor was à  imun Boà ¾iÃÂeviÃÂ-Nadali until 1657, followed by Ivan Vusio from 1658 to 1663.
According to Superintendent General for Dalmatia and Albania Girolamo Corner, BraÃÂ had a population of 5222 in 1682 (1688 men, 2040 women, 890 boys and 604 girls).
Venice used the internal struggles between the old and new families, between the noble families and the peasants, to their advantage. Braàdidn't develop, but became poorer and less populated. Doge Marco Foscarini wrote in 1762/3 that one more decade of such an administration, and the knez will not administer people, but just some ruins and stones. The main town Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa, as most of the inland towns, have lost a lot of people.
In 1796, just before the fall of Venice, the population of Braàhas reached 10,988 peopleâÂÂclose to the number in modern times.
Venice ruled for more than four centuries, until 1797, when the Habsburg monarchy annexed most of its territory in a deal with Napoleonic France. The official language was Latin.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Braàwas conquered by the French Empire for a short time in 1806. In 1807, Prince-Bishop Petar I Njegoà ¡ of Montenegro managed to seize Braàwith the help of the Russian navy, however already at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the island was returned to the Austrian Empire. In 1827, the administrative center of Braàmoved from Nereà ¾ià ¡ÃÂa to Supetar. Braàwas incorporated into the Austrian crownland of Dalmatia from and became a part of Cisleithania of the Monarchy of Austria-Hungary from 1867. After the fall of Austria-Hungary 1918, Braàbecame part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, or Yugoslavia since 1929. In 1939 an autonomous Croatian Banate was created that included the island.
The population of the island drastically decreased from about 40,000 people in the beginning of the 20th century to about 13,000 at the end of the 20th century. This was due to heavy emigration, mostly to Latin America, especially Argentina and Chile, and to New Zealand and Australia. The emigration continued during the whole century, only later generations preferring to move to European countries, especially Germany. Among others, the Chilean writer Antonio Skármeta is descended from such immigrants, as well as, the former president of Chile, Gabriel Boric. Most of the emigration was caused due to dwindling economic opportunities on the island, particularly due to phylloxera causing huge economic losses on the vineyards.
In 1941 Italian forces occupied the island. In the mountainous regions of the island, native rebels fought a quite effective guerrilla war, but the occupiers answered harshly with arrests and executions. After the Italian capitulation in 1943, German troops occupied the island on January 12 and 13 of 1944, but in July they were defeated. Selca and six other towns on BraÃÂ were burned in August 9, which is said to have burned for three days and three nights. Yugoslav Partisans and their allies landed on Bol September 12, and started an offensive. German troops barricaded themselves in Sumartin on the eastern end of the island, with the goal to keep control of the BraÃÂ channel. The last large battle occurred on Mount Sveti Nikola between Selca and Sumartin on September 17. More than 700 people on BraÃÂ lost their lives. The island was freed on September 18, 1944. The school in Selca, not far from the battlefield, was named (September 18), but has been renamed since.
As part of Croatia it became part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, until Croatia gained its independence in 1991, receiving recognition in 1992. The Croatian War of Independence was barely fought on the island (there was a brief bombing of Milna), but the aftermath of the war, especially the loss in tourism, was disastrous for the island. Only now is the island regenerating from the decade-long drainage of its most important revenue.
As of the 2021 census, the island has a population of 13,931. Most of the population is Croatian (95.3%) and Roman Catholic (83.5%). Over the last few decades, the population is increasingly concentrating in the largest city, Supetar, whereas many of the smaller settlements are getting even smaller. The birth rate was 8.8 births per 1000 in the 2010s. Women over 15 have given birth to 1.6 children on average.
Of the population 15 or older, 2.4% did not finish elementary education (8th grade) and 16.2% finished elementary education. 59.6% finished secondary education. 21.8% finished higher education, including 0.26% (31 people) who have a doctorate of science.
The economy of BraÃÂ is based mostly on tourism, fishing and agriculture, and its white limestone.
In agriculture, especially wine and olives are important. Olive oil from BraÃÂ has a protected designation of origin. Varenik, a syrup made from a local grape variety, is a protected geographical indication. Pliny commented that BraÃÂ was famous for its goats.
The famous BraÃÂ white limestone has been quarried for millennia. It was used in building Diocletian's Palace in Split, Banovina Palace in Novi Sad, and the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. The limestone is also claimed to have been used in the White House in Washington, D.C.
The island consumes about 90 GWh of energy per year. Most of the energy is provided through a power cable coming from the mainland, but recently two solar parks (SPP Pelegrin I and SPP Gornji Humac) east of Gornji Humac have started construction. Both have a nominal power of 9.9 MW. SPP Pelegrin I is expected to produce 15 GWh and SPP Gornji Humac is expected to produce 20 GWh. Their construction (together with SPP Gradac on the mainland, which also has 9.9 MW power) cost 35.3 Million Euro. They are operated by Encro d.o.o.
BraÃÂ was open to tourism already since the first half of the 20th century: in 1938, 2,850 tourists were registered. Following the second world war these numbers grew quickly: more than 30,000 tourists visited each year in the 1960s, and it found its preliminary high point just before the Croatian War of Independence, in 1989 and 1990, with more than 115,000 tourists, before it crashed down during the war to only 9,400 in 1992. Before the COVID pandemic significantly reduced the number of tourists, BraÃÂ counted 244,000 tourists in 2018.
The first luxury hotel to open on BraÃÂ was the Grand Hotel Elaphusa, in 1971.
"The morning of June 6th has dawned, and in the afternoon, the first guests will move into the newly built hotel: 60 Swiss tourists (ESCO Reisen from Basel). The employees of the company had been eagerly awaiting this ceremonial moment, filled with anticipation. For the first time, young hotel workersâÂÂmostly sons of Braàshepherds, fishermen, farmers, and stonemasonsâÂÂwill be serving in a real hotel. The newly built Elaphusa Hotel is a Category A establishment."