Interpretive Centres: Guardians of Maritime and Frankopan Heritage
Nestled in the heart of the old town of Krk, beneath the picturesque Pjanka Square, the Interpretation Centre for the Maritime Heritage of Krk Island offers a contemporary and interactive insight into the island’s rich maritime tradition.
The centre spans a timeline from late antiquity, highlighting significant underwater archaeological sites, through medieval seafaring and the advent of steamship navigation, up to the mid-20th century. It features a model-making workshop equipped by the award-winning Krk ship model maker and collector, Željko Skomeršić. The exhibition area includes interpretative panels providing a historical overview of Krk’s maritime development, along with a variety of exhibits such as nautical instruments, shipbuilding tools, old nautical maps, atlases, and manuals, as well as models from the extensive Skomeršić Collection. Enriched with multimedia content, the centre also features an educational application simulating sailing and displays photographic and video content from traditional vessel regattas and sailing events.
Interpretation Centre for the Maritime Heritage of Krk Island
Frankopanska 1, 51500 Krk
+385 98 932 84 99
www.leut-krk.hr
skomersiczeljko@gmail.com
The Interpretation Centre is tucked away in a small street once called Maura Kal. These are words from the Vegliot dialect, meaning ‘large street’ or ‘great avenue’. Vegliot was a dialect of the Dalmatian language, which originated from Vulgar Latin. In the town of Krk, its final stronghold, it was spoken for 400 years after becoming extinct in Dalmatia, only to vanish here as well at the end of the 19th century with the passing of its last speaker, Antonio Udina Burbur.
Interpretation Centre Krk
Adjacent to the Maritime Heritage Centre, on one of the city’s most historically significant squares – Kamplin Square – stands the Frankopan Castle, home to the Interpretation Centre Krk, part of the cultural-tourism route The Frankopan Paths.
In addition to showcasing the architectural heritage of the Frankopans, the castle offers visitors a fascinating exhibition of medieval weapon replicas and a smaller open-air archaeological display. Highlights include Liburnian funerary cippi from the 1st and 2nd centuries, as well as two inscriptions: one documenting the construction of a section of the city walls in the 1st century, and another dedicated to the patron of the “most splendid city of the Krk people” (Splendidissima Civitas Kuryctarum) from the late 3rd or early 4th century.
The castle’s oldest section, the square Frankopan Tower (courthouse), was completed in 1191 thanks to Dukes Bartol and Vid with the support of the municipality of Krk. The round tower on the northern side of the castle dates to the 13th century.
Trg Kamplin 7, 51500 Krk
info@kastel-krk.com
https://frankopani.eu/interpretacijski-centar/interpretacijski-centar-krk/
The Frankopan Castle is the only preserved secular medieval monument in the town of Krk, built by generations of the Frankopan family between the 12th and the 15th (16th) centuries.
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