The tourist boards of the island of Brač and the municipality of Nerežišća are launching a new tourist product on the island - Camino Brac. The Camino Brač route will connect the sacred, cultural and natural sights of Brač, which will offer pilgrims, tourists and the local population a new experience of the island.
Camina tradition it dates back to the 9th century, and today the Camino network stretches throughout Europe. Croatia, on the other hand, has a very rich history of the Camino, from local fraternities that operated as early as 1203, pilgrim robes made in this area, to special privileges granted to pilgrims who walked in the Middle Ages. from Croatia to Santiago de Compostela and back. Also, Croats have been known as pilgrims in Europe since ancient times - even Dante Alighieri in his Divine Comedy mentions the character of a Croatian pilgrim, and Croats were among the first Camino to the pilgrims.
A group of Croatian Camino enthusiasts gathered in the Brotherhood of St. James decided to restore the rich Croatian Camino tradition, so a project was launched to restore the medieval Camino routes through Croatia. Camino France is and under the protection of UNESCO as part of the World Heritage.
With this project, the tourist board and the municipality of Nerežišća will work to increase the number of arrivals and overnight stays, especially in the pre- and post-season, and thus join the Croatian and European network of Camino de Santiago routes. The Camino is one of the cultural routes of the Council of Europe, and with the launch of this product, Brač joins it.
This is a joint project, and it is realized in cooperation with the Brotherhood of St. Jakov, the official Croatian representative in the central Camino institution - the Brotherhood of St. Jakov in Santiago de Compostela, and with the support of the Tourist Board of Split-Dalmatia County.
The island of Brač thus becomes the sixth section Croatian network of Camino routes in the last two years, more than 3000 pilgrims have walked, mainly from the USA, Australia and South Africa, but also more and more Croats, including the people of Brač.
They are currently active in Croatia Camino Krk, Camino Imota, Camino Podravina, Camino Banovina i Camino Sibenik, and the plan is Camino southern Istria. Reportedly, several more Camino routes are being seriously discussed in Croatia, so the story about Camino trails in Croatia is becoming more and more interesting.
Cover photo: Dorian Dražić-Karalić
