Camino de Santiago or Put Sv. Jacob represents a network of pilgrimage routes, a total of 800 kilometers long, leading to the globally known shrine in Galicia (northwestern Spain) - Santiago de Compostela where the tomb of St. James the Apostle. In 1987, the Council of Europe assigned it to the network the title of Main Street of Europe, to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993, its Spanish and French parts. However, the network of Camino roads stretches throughout Europe, and Croatia is almost the only European country, which, despite a rich pilgrimage tradition, until recently did not have a marked route to Santiago.
The Camina tradition dates back to the 9th century, and today, after Rome and Jerusalem, Santiago can boast the title of one of the most visited Catholic shrines. Namely, shortly after the discovery of the remains of St. Jacob set out to form a pilgrimage route, with the proviso that as early as 1140 published and the first tourist guide Codex Calixtinus. After 1203, as evidenced by historical sources, even in Croatia there are organized fraternities that help pilgrims on their demanding walking endeavor. This initiative developed in Europe until the Reformation, when it almost completely died out, but in the 80s of the last century the revitalization of the pilgrimage tradition began, which resulted in the fact that the Camino route is walked annually by about 350.000 registered pilgrims.
She is also committed to this challenge Brotherhood of St. Jakov from Samobor which in 2017 became part of the eponymous Brotherhood of Santiago de Compostela, otherwise a central association that brings together associations and fraternities from around the world that bear Jacob’s name. One of the primary intentions of this association is to renew the Croatian network of Camino roads, with the first related project, thanks first to cooperation with the Tourist Board of the City of Krk, and then with other island tourist boards, the development of Camino Krk, which forms one from sections of the Croatian Camino roads network.
Photo: Krk Tourist Board
World circular route Camino Krk it is 150 kilometers long and monitors the infrastructure of existing hiking and biking trails. The tour of the Krk route is divided into seven pilgrimage chapters, seven days to be precise. For easier navigation on the island of Camino, Krk is marked with recognizable, blue-yellow signs, and in addition to signalization, there is also interactive digital map which also allows tracking the route using a smartphone.
The starting point of the route is located in the island center - the town of Krk, ie the Krk Cathedral, and the final in the village Kornić, in the parish church dedicated to St. To the Apostle James. You can read what the whole route looks like day by day in mine blogs created in September when, at the invitation of the Tourist Board of the island of Krk, I walked the entire route.
- Camino Krk - the first day brings exploration of the island's metropolis
- Camino Krk day two: what does Camino provide, who are Camino junkies and what does Camino call it?
- On the third day, Camino Krk leads from Malinska along Rajska cesta through Njivice to Omišalj with a visit to hidden coves.
- The fourth day of Camino Krk: an unforgettable walk under the Krk bridge and a reminder of the rule - No wine, No Camino!
- The fifth day of Camino Krk takes you through picturesque places to Vrbnik, the center of the island's wine story
- On the sixth day, Camino Krk leads through vineyards to the Moon Plateau and Baška
- The seventh day Camino Krk is the most demanding route leading to the church of St. James
Seven days of pilgrimage and discovery of island landmarks
Krk Camino route, in a kind of synthesis of the pilgrimage inherent in the contemplation and discovery of the island's natural, historical and cultural treasures, following almost entirely the contour of the island on the first day it leads from Krk to the settlement of Brzac (23 kilometers), another day from Brsca to Malinska (22,9 kilometers), on the third day from Malinska to Omišalj (19 kilometers), on the fourth day from Omišalj to Čižić (21 km), on the fifth day from Čižić to Vrbnik (21,6 kilometers), on the sixth day from Vrbnik to Baška (23,3 kilometers) and the last, on the seventh day from Baška to Kornić (21,4 kilometers).
Why winter is the ideal time to cross the Camino Krk:
These days, last year's notice popped up on one of the author's social networks Ned Pinezic a well-known Croatian tourist expert who comes from Krk and who very simply explained why now is the ideal time to embark on this adventure on one of the most beautiful Croatian islands. I have to admit that Camino Krk delighted me, and its announcement made me think that I should repeat the walk right now because high temperatures were our biggest problem even though we walked in September.
Interestingly, the island of Krk is destined to be associated with the number seven that we wrote about HERE, and there are exactly seven reasons that Nedo Pinezić stated in support of the thesis that right now is the ideal time for Camino Krk.
- No snakes
- There is no heat and it is not too cold
- There is no crowd anywhere
- Accommodation prices are lower than in high season
- The vegetation is dormant, so the roads are more passable and the views are clearer
- The air is purified by bora and rich in marine aerosol - natural inhalation of the respiratory tract
- Peace, silence, meditation
By the way, Camino Krk was awarded by Skål International as an associate member of the World Tourism Organization, which awards every year international awards for sustainable tourism. The Camino Krk project was awarded a high prize third place in the category Rural / Rural Areas and Biodiversity (Countryside and Biodiversity) which included ten more initiatives from different parts of the world.
Let us add at the end that the task of this project is to discover and form new island tourism potentials, more precisely the creation of preconditions for development of religious or pilgrimage tourism and active recreation. Therefore, this is a complex and long-term initiative which, with the support of the Brotherhood of St. Jakov, but also all tourism stakeholders, the island of Krk can be positioned on the European map of Camino destinations and create an opportunity to extend the tourist season in the spirit of sustainable development and promotion of local values.
After walking the Camina in Spain popular French routes in the length of 830 kilometers, and then Camina Krk I can only recommend both routes and without any false modesty say that Camino Krk is really a much nicer trail, but also more demanding, but because it is much shorter because compared to the French route you cross it in seven days, while for the Camino Frances you still need a minimum of a month. I wrote about the experience of walking this route in a blog called Camino or the Way of St. James - a path that cannot be described.
