Svetac
Island of Croatia
title: "Svetac" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["uninhabited-islands-of-croatia", "important-bird-areas-of-croatia", "important-bird-areas-of-adriatic-islands", "islands-of-the-adriatic-sea", "islands-of-split-dalmatia-county", "private-islands-of-croatia"] description: "Island of Croatia" topic_path: "general/uninhabited-islands-of-croatia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetac" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Island of Croatia ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox Islands"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Sveti Andrija |
| image_name | Sveti Andrija island.jpg |
| map | Croatia |
| mapframe | yes |
| mapframe-zoom | 8 |
| mapframe-stroke-width | 1 |
| native_name | Štondrija |
| native_name_link | Croatian language |
| nickname | Svetac |
| location | Adriatic Sea |
| coordinates | |
| archipelago | Vis Islands |
| area_km2 | 4.19 |
| highest_mount | Kosa |
| elevation_m | 316 |
| country | Croatia |
| country_admin_divisions_title | County |
| country_admin_divisions | Split-Dalmatia |
| :: |
| name = Sveti Andrija
| image_name = Sveti Andrija island.jpg
| image_caption =
| image_size =
| map = Croatia
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 8
| mapframe-stroke-width = 1
| map_caption =
| native_name = Štondrija
| native_name_link = Croatian language
| nickname = Svetac
| location = Adriatic Sea
| coordinates =
| archipelago = Vis Islands
| total_islands =
| major_islands =
| area_km2 = 4.19
| highest_mount = Kosa
| elevation_m = 316
| country = Croatia
| country_admin_divisions_title = County
| country_admin_divisions = Split-Dalmatia
| population =
| population_as_of =
| density_km2 =
| ethnic_groups =
| additional_info =
Sveti Andrija (, meaning "Saint Andrew"), often called Svetac (, meaning "saint"), is an island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea.
Svetac is situated 14 nmi from Komiža (a town on the island of Vis). It is uninhabited, although it used to have permanent residents. Approximately 300 meters off the southwest coast of the island there is the islet of Kamnik, and further on the open sea there is the volcanic island called Jabuka. About 2.5 km{{cite journal | url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/9636 | title=Coastline lengths and areas of islands in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea determined from the topographic maps at the scale of 1 : 25 000 | journal=Geoadria | location=Zadar | volume=9 | issue=1 | pages=5–32 | date=June 2004 | last1=Duplančić Leder | first1=Tea | last2=Ujević | first2=Tin | last3=Čala | first3=Mendi | doi=10.15291/geoadria.127 | format=PDF | accessdate=6 December 2019 | doi-access=free
History
Svetac was inhabited in prehistoric era, as evidenced by archeological remains, the oldest of which were found in Tovorski bod, a cave in the south part of the island. A Benedictine monastery built on the island was abandoned in late 15th or early 16th century. In 1760, a small pine tar factory was opened. After the pine forest on the island was completely cut down, the factory was closed, and Svetac was acquired by members of the Zanki family, who settled there. The population census on Svetac from 1951 was around 60, all members of the Zanki family. The last one of the group that lived there all year round was Antonija Zanki, an elderly woman who died in 2001. Now members of the Zanki family effectively live there four to six months a year, from late spring to autumn, still keeping up the houses of their grandfathers, fishing, making red wine and olive oil. Most members of the Zanki family who own this, largest private island in Adriatic, live in Komiža now (14 nm east). Svetac island is in open seas, without any natural protected bay, and members of the Zanki family survived there for centuries.
Environment
Svetac is a breeding ground for a small number of Eleonora's falcons, a rare bird with only c. 40–80 nesting pairs estimated to live on the outer Croatian Adriatic islands. The falcons migrate to Madagascar every September and return to their nests in April.
Svetac and its neighbouring islet of Kamnik, along with Vis, Brusnik, Biševo, Jabuka and the Palagruža archipelago, forms part of the Croatian Offshore Islands Important Bird Area (IBA). This was designated as such by BirdLife International because it supports significant breeding populations of Scopoli's and Yelkouan shearwaters, as well as of the Eleonora's falcons.
References
Bibliography
- Mithad Kozličić, Josip Faričić: "The Significance of Sv. Andrija Island (Svetac) on a Sailing Route Across the Adriatic Presented on Old Geographical Maps"
References
- [http://www.dalmatia.hr/CentralDalmatia/Naturalbeauties1/tabid/2402/Default.aspx A tip about the island on dalmatia.hr] {{Webarchive. link. (27 May 2007)
- (24 July 2012). "Ugroženog Eleonorina sokola na Svecu prati nadzorna kamera". [[Slobodna Dalmacija]].
- (1997). "The status and distribution of Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae Gene 1834) in Croatia". [[Croatian Natural History Museum]].
- . (2024). ["Offshore Islands"](https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/offshore-islands-iba-croatia). *BirdLife International*.
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