Vir


Vir is an island on the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea with an area of 22 km2. It lies in Dalmatia, north of the city of Zadar. It is connected to the mainland via a road bridge. The main village on the island is the eponymous village of Vir. There are two more villages, Lozice and Torovi. According to the 2011 census, the island had a population of 3,000 inhabitants, making it the 13th most populous island in Croatia.
The highest peak on the island is Bandira.

History

The first known mention of Vir was in Mare Nostrum Dalmaticum, a charter by king Peter Krešimir IV, where the island is referred to as Ueru, a word believed to have an ancient Mediterranean origin, meaning "pasture".

Tourism

Vir is a tourist hotspot. Official statistics in 2018 documented over 80,000 guests from over 70 countries on the island already by the end of July. In 2018, the highest number of foreign tourists was from Slovenia, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Austria, Sweden and Switzerland. With an average of 12.6 overnight stays per tourist, Vir holds the record of the longest time of tourist stays in Croatia.

Overpopulation

The island is one of the biggest described endemic places of origin of house-mouse-borne lymphocytic choriomeningitis in the world, with IFA testing having found LCMV antibodies in 36% of the tested population.

Gallery