Sometime in the first millennia B.C., a tribe of Illyrians, the first Croatians in the area, built a small fishing settlement and lived there in peace for several centuries. It wasn’t until the 4th century B.C. when Greek settlers first showed up, colonized the island and started building upon the already existing villages, soon expanding them and giving them the outlines of what they are today. The most notable thing that the Greeks and the Romans, who were also present in the area around the 2nd century A.D., left behind, is perhaps the art of agriculture and, to the great delight of Croatians and visitors alike, a world-famous tradition of wine making. To this day, the island of Hvar is riddled with vineyards, some still in the old Greek fields, and finding a wine tasting tour is no trouble at all!

We have the Venetians to thank for modern day Hvar. They took over Hvar town in the 13th century A.D. and very quickly, due to a very desirable geographical position of the time, moved all of the administration of the empire. This meant that Hvar town very quickly became a hugely important location, and as such experienced a long period of expansion and general well being. This is also when the Španjola fortress (or as it is sometimes referred to, Fortica) was built and is still standing on the hill overlooking the port as an ancient and silent protector.