Krk (Italian Veglia) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county.
Krk is one of the largest Adriatic islands with an area of 407 km²(Exactly 405,218.994 m²), and also the most populous one, with numerous towns and villages totalling 16,402. The eponymous city of Krk has 5,491 inhabitants (2001), while there are also smaller municipalities like Omišalj (2,998), Malinska-Dubašnica (2,726), Punat (1,876), Mošćenička Draga (1,641), Baška (1,554).
Krk is located rather near the mainland and has been connected to it via a 1,430 m long two-arch concrete bridge since 1980, one of the longest concrete bridges in the world. Due to the proximity to the city of Rijeka, Omišalj also hosts the Rijeka International Airport as well as an oil refinery (related to the Rijeka port tanker facilities).
Krk has historically been a center of Croatian culture. Various literature in Glagolitic alphabet was created and in part preserved on Krk (notably the Baška Tablet, the oldest preserved text in Croatian). Krk was also the seat of medieval bishops and important nobility, the Frankopans.
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Last updated: 10-14-2005 09:23:34
