Description

Sv. Jerolim is one of the 14 islands of Brijuni National Park, lying in the Fažana Channel just 750 metres from the mainland. Covering 12.62 hectares, with a coastline of 1.51 km and a highest point of 18 metres, it is a favourite day trip and beach for the people of Pula and Fažana, and you can spend a whole day here swimming, snorkeling and exploring.

The island was named after a church and monastery that once stood here, destroyed by quarrying in the early 20th century; today only the foundations of one wall remain. Its fine white stone was so valuable that when Hans Wildi sold Brijuni to Paul Kupelwieser in 1893, he kept Sv. Jerolim for himself. Stone from this small island was used for buildings on Vienna’s Ringstrasse, including the State Opera and the City Hall, for Miramare Castle in Trieste, and as far back as the 15th century by Juraj Dalmatinac in Ancona.

The sea around the island has seen great battles. In May 1379 the fleets of Genoa and Venice clashed between Sv. Jerolim and Kozada, and the Genoese captured 15 Venetian ships. Centuries later, when Pula became Austria-Hungary’s main naval port, steel nets were stretched across the channel to stop enemy vessels, and their iron supports can still be seen on the shore.

For its size, Sv. Jerolim is surprisingly green, ranking third in the archipelago for plant diversity. Maquis and garrigue mix with pines and cypresses planted about a hundred years ago, and in spring the island fills with wild daffodils and summer asphodel. It is also the only place in the northern Adriatic where rope grass grows. Gulls and the endangered Mediterranean shag nest on the smaller islands nearby, and lizards bask on the old quarry stones.

The rich underwater world makes Sv. Jerolim a popular spot for snorkeling and diving. Since the island has gone plastic-free, please take your rubbish back with you. Across the channel, the main island awaits in Brijuni National Park.