Baska Glagolitic Path
The Baška Glagolitic Path ( Croatian bašćanska staza glagoljice ) is a tourist attraction on the Croatian island of Krk . It consists of several stone monuments that can be found in various places in Baška and the surrounding area and represent letters from Glagolitic Islands . The path is intended to commemorate the cultural heritage of the city and the country, including the Baška plaque that was found there and is depicted on the 100 kuna notes.
Glagolitic script
Glagolitic script is the oldest script of the Slavic peoples and was developed by Cyril of Saloniki for his missionary work. They are particularly proud of them in Croatia and see them as part of their national heritage.
beginning and end
Beginning: the Az
The first stop on the Glagolitic Path is the "big Az". It is about 7 meters high, carved out of stone, showing the first letter of the Glagolitic alphabet. You can find it shortly after a hill next to the welcome sign of the Općina Baška (Baška municipality). The Glagolitic Trail begins here on the border of the Baška commune. From here it is about 7–8 (road) kilometers to the city center, where the symbolic end can be found on the beach promenade or at the port.
End: the Omega
The symbolic end of the path by the sea is a compass rose with a Greek omega (the Glagolitic script does not contain a corresponding letter), which is located at the end of the pedestrian zone that represents the tourist beach promenade. Like the Az, this is also designed differently from most of the other letters, because it represents a compass rose and thus contains other letters:
Four letters for the four cardinal points are immortalized around the omega on a square stone slab: Z for Zapad (west), S for Sever (north), I for Istok (east) and Ю for Юgo (south) (The Glagolica knows, as well as the Cyrillic script, a ligature for the sound "Ju"). A circle is inscribed on the stone square, on which the eight wind directions can be read among other things, written as: Tramuntana, Bura, Levant, Jugo, Oštro, Lebić, Pulenat and Maestral.
In addition to the compass rose, a kind of stage is set up from which the stone tablet can be photographed from above.
More letters
If you continue on the road from the Az towards the beach, you will soon come across the next two letters with the sounds Ž and E, which can be found together at a freshwater spring, on the right side of the road. This time, on the left side of the road, a stone with the two letters Đ and K, just before a narrow road bridge. Finally, the sixth letter J can be found on the main square of Draga Bašćanska .
Many of these stones can be found at local entrances. Mention should be made of the L at the entrance to the suburb Jurandvor and the B at the entrance to Baška. For other letters you have to leave the main street: The W is next to the Batolomaj sign. As you can see, most of the letters are neither listed according to their order in the alphabet, nor are they to be visited on a straight or crooked line on whatever winding path, but are placed in exposed places.
In contrast to the Az, whose monument looks like a fork, and the Omega, which protrudes from the stone, most of the letters are, so to speak, hammered into a stone about 1 × 1 m as a negative. Nor does the Glagolitic Path only include letters; Occasionally there are other works of art that play with Glagolitic letters or texts. If you walk up to the hill with the Church of St. Ivan (Sveti Ivan), you can rest on a stone bench about halfway up, which is provided with a Glagolitic text.
The search for the monuments
Since the letters are not on a line or at least on a certain path (in the true sense of the word), you have to look for them like Easter eggs, so to speak. However, there is help in the form of maps and brochures at the tourist information office, but more or less targeted searching for the letters displayed is more exciting.
In retrospect, the location of the monuments often appears understandable. You can find the B at the entrance to the town of Baška, the M for “Maria” in front of the Shrine of the Mother of God on the Mountain (Svetište Majke Božije Goričke), the I on the footpath from the Church of St. Ivan to his grave. On the other hand, at the beginning of the suburb Jurandvor there is no J, but a huge L.
Many letters, such as the P, V and G, are located on the beach promenade or in Emil-Geistlich-Straße (Ulica Emilia Geistlicha), which is partly identical to the former. Others are in places that are less frequented by tourism, or hidden next to a road in a wood. Other locations are marked on a special road map that is available from the tourist information.
Other projects of this kind
The legacy of Scripture is cherished across Croatia. In Istria there is a similar project, the Glagolitic Alley and the monument to the 45th parallel in Senj is decorated with Glagolitic letters, to name just two examples.
Web links
- The Baška Glagolitic Path on the island of Krk
- The Baska Glagolitic Path
- The Baška Glagolitic Way
- Winds on the Adriatic Croatia
- The Glagoliza on banknotes, including on the 100 kuna note - moneypedia.de