Island and the town of the same name Rab offer an amazing variety of landscapes, beautiful beaches, long and pleasant hiking trails, cultural monuments from pre-Roman times, which characterize especially the historical town of Rab with its four bell towers and much more.
The island was settled by the Illyrians in 350 B.C. and became a Roman municipium in the 1st century, becoming an important centre on the eastern Adriatic coast under the name of Felix Arba (Arb is an Illyrian word meaning dark, luxuriant and green) (Felix the Happy).
The island's heyday began between the second half of the 11th century and lasted until the 13th century, when Rab was ruled under Croatian rule and the Republic of Venice as a free Adriatic commune. In the 15th century Rab was sold to Venice and remained Venetian until 1798, when Napoleon came to this area.
The rich cultural heritage (over 2000 years) of the island is celebrated every year with a special medieval festival.
Particularly interesting is the story about the local stonemason Marinus, who moved to the Apennine Peninsula and founded the Republic of San Marino there in the 4th century. Today St. Marinus is the patron saint of Lopar and a particularly important figure for the population.
You can explore the culture and history of the island for a few hours with a guide.
(Romana Crnić- Croatian, German, English)
Felix Arba - The happy green island
Rab is next to Mljet the greenest island of the Adriatic Sea over 30% of the island is green.
Forests are the symbol of the island Rab.
They are characteristic of the Mediterranean littoral vegetation of the Mediterranean region, the approximately 4000 ha of the island regions: Kalifront (Copo Fronte - The Green Head), Fruge, Sorinj and Loparski gušć
The spreading plants of the island belong to evergreen plants and the spreading genus is the holm oak.
There are few holm oaks in the Mediterranean region whose trunks are as thick and trees as high and old as those in the Dundo forest.
Other tree species are: wild olive, manna ash, downy oak, sparrowhawk, linden, strawberry tree, tree heather, juniper and many other species, which form an unmistakable interweaving of colours, flowers and fruits as well as scents.
Here we also find shrubs and woody plants as well as Mediterranean medicinal herbs - sage, curry herb, basilica, rosemary, laurel,.
The beauty of the forests is also due to the many animal species.
The largest forest complex is Kalifront, which also serves as a hunting ground.
Are hunting animals in the forests of the island of Rab: hares, pheasants, wild pigeons, laughing pigeons, snipes, and in the predominantly stony areas of the island you can also find rock partridges and rabbits.
Besides hunting animals, there are also 162 species of birds, all of which are protected. Of reptiles we find turtles, lizards and of the small animals we must mention stone martens and foxes.
Some species of bats also live in the woods.
All animal species except hunting animals are protected by the hunting ban and other hunting regulations.