Preko
Municipality in Zadar County, Croatia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Preko (Italian: Oltre; lit. "Across") is a village and a municipality in Zadar County, Croatia. It is situated, as the name suggests, opposite of Zadar, on the island of Ugljan, in northern Dalmatia. Its old centre consists of typical Dalmatian architecture with numerous patrician family summer houses. According to the 2011 census, there are 3,805 inhabitants, 88% which are Croats.[3]
Preko
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|---|---|
| Općina Preko Municipality of Preko | |
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 Interactive map of Preko | |
  Preko Location of Preko in Croatia | |
| Coordinates: 44°05′11″N 15°10′58″E | |
| Country |  Croatia |
| County |  Zadar County |
| Government | |
| • Municipal mayor | Jure Brižić (HDZ) |
| Area | |
| 54.6 km2 (21.1 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 5.7 km2 (2.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
| 3,556 | |
| • Density | 65.1/km2 (169/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,250 |
| • Urban density | 220/km2 (570/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 23273 Preko |
| Vehicle registration | ZD |
| Website | opcina-preko |
History
Sitting in the mountains above Preko is Fort St. Michael, built by the Eastern Roman Empire in the 6th century. The castle was rebuilt by the Republic of Venice in the 13th century. Its main purpose was control above channel of Zadar and the archipelago of islands behind the island of Ugljan. The castle was sacked by English crusaders on their way to the Holy Land, and by the Nazis in World War II. The high position of the castle made it the perfect lookout and listening station for the occupying Germans. Today, the castle is home to a telecommunications station. About 80 m from Preko lies the islet of Galevac (Školjić).
The 11th century Romanesque church of St. John the Baptist is situated on the eastern side of the locality, near the ferry port. Preko is the closest starting point for the excursion to Fort St. Michael (265 m above the sea level). The view from the fortress extends to more than 200 islands of the archipelago of Zadar and the Kornati National Park.
Demographics
In 2021, the municipality had 3,556 residents in the following 8 settlements:[2]
- Lukoran, population 478
- Ošljak, population 35
- Poljana, population 321
- Preko, population 1250
- Rivanj, population 23
- Sestrunj, population 45
- Sutomišćica, population 380
- Ugljan, population 1024
| population | 3374 | 3856 | 4294 | 5025 | 5740 | 6407 | 7496 | 7065 | 7189 | 7030 | 6929 | 6510 | 4382 | 4613 | 3871 | 3805 | 3556 |
| 1857 | 1869 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1921 | 1931 | 1948 | 1953 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
