The library
Thirty thousand volumes and Glagolitic manuscripts in a tiny island monastery.
pollobarca — CC BY-SA 2.0 · pollobarca2 — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Berthold Werner — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Berthold Werner — CC BY-SA 3.0
A small round island in the middle of **Punat bay**, about six hectares, inhabited only by **Franciscan friars** — and continuously inhabited by religious since the twelfth century. The whole island is **forest**: over four hundred plant species in a very small area, including old trees, cypress and oak, with a circular path round the edge taking about twenty minutes. At its centre is the monastery and its church, holding a collection that surprises by its scale: A **library** of more than **30,000 volumes**, including Glagolitic manuscripts and early printings — among them a **Ptolemy printed in 1511** with coloured maps. An **ethnographic museum** of the dress and tools of Krk. A **natural history museum** with insect and shell collections, and a preserved two-bodied lamb born on the island. And a large **Last Judgement** painting in the church. Note: access is **by water taxi from Punat** only — about five minutes, running regularly in season. Note: **modest dress is required** — this is a working monastery where friars live.
Thirty thousand volumes and Glagolitic manuscripts in a tiny island monastery.
Twenty minutes round the edge under dense forest.
A large painting in the monastery church.
Punat bay, island of Krk — by boat from Punat
The island is large with winding roads, so do not try to see everything. A tested order: **Krk town** in the morning — the walls, cathedral, double complex and castle, two to three hours. Then nearby **Punat** (5 km) and the boat to **Košljun**, about two hours with the island. Lunch in Punat or Vrbnik. In the afternoon **Vrbnik** for its clifftop lanes and a Žlahtina tasting. ⚠ **Baška needs half a day of its own** (40 km on a mountain road) — make it a second day together with Jurandvor church rather than squeezing it in. ⚠ **Omišalj** is practical only for an arrival or departure night, being close to the airport.
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