Veli Lošinj, the city of captains houses

Veli Lošinj, the oldest town on the island

Veli Lošinj spreads from the bay of Javorna to the bay of Jakovlje. It was once the largest town on the island of Lošinj. This town was once filled with carob trees, olive groves, vineyards and almond trees. Today is surrounded by an evergreen forest of Alpine pines and because of the Mediterranean climate, the most beautiful groves of lemon, tangerine and orange trees.

The Church of Saint Antun Pustinjak

The old port of Veli Lošinj is dominated by a great steeple and the church of Saint Antun Pustinjak (Anthony the Hermit), the town's patron saint. The church is a real treasury of art, mostly coming from the times of the Venetian Republic. Its present day structure was completed in 1774, during the reign of the Prejasna Republic. The person who was most responsible for furnishing the church was Gasparo Craglietto.

Museum and Gallery of Veli Lošinj

The town fortress was turned into the Museum and Gallery of Veli Lošinj. The ground level houses a model of the Apoksiomenos, represented in the position that it held for centuries after falling from the damaged Antiguity ship. The first floor of the Museum contains exhibits of the prehistoric and antiquity periods of this area, as well as the first permanent settlement of the Croatian tribes that arrived in the thirteenth century. The exhibit also includes artifacts of the development of the Veli Lošinj that date up to the twentieth century and the beginning of tourist boom.

Church of Our Lady of Angels

The church of Majka Božja od Anđela is a little bit smaller than the parish church and was constructed in the year 1510. It also boasts an extensive collection of artwork from the Venetian school. It is also worthwile to mention the church of John the Baptist. It was constructed on top of Kalvarija in 1755, at the height of 235 meters above Veli Lošinj. The mass is given there only once a year, on June 24 th.

Cape Leva

At the bay's entrance near Cape Leva, stands a light post that guides the vessels at night so that may safely enter the bay. A few old cannons surround the light-post and resemble those that the town's ancestors used to defend themselves from unwanted guests. In 1455, a defense fort was constructed for this purpose at the tip of the bay. It used to stand on the seacost rock, but is now obstructed with a row of houses that were built on the coast and the small port called Mandrača.