Zastražišće
The south-east of Jelsa part of the island was called Plame in the Middle Ages. It was originally a shepherds' area but many settlers arrived from the mainland in the 17th century during the Venetian-Turkish wars. Even today, there are language differences between them and other inhabitants of the island. There is a series of small villages and hamlets which are interesting from the ethnographic point of view: Gornja Prapratna in the bay of Prapratna with the summer house of the noble family Angelini from the 18th C., Vela Stiniva in the bay of Zastražišće, Humac, the bay of Črvanj on the south side.
The name of the village of Zastražišće indicates its function of guarding from ancient times. Zastražišće guarded the approach to the Hvar plain. The original role of the village is indicated by its name which derives from the Croatian word straža which means »guard«. On the hill (Vela glava, 316 m) stand the remains of an Illyrian fortification dating from 1000 B.C. The Hvar plain was also safe from surprise attack in Turkish times if the sea was watched from these vantage points. Of the two former defence towers of the patrician family Angjelinović (one destroyed, the other completely reconstructed) only a Croatian inscription from 1624 has been preserved. The towers were designed primarily as protection against attacks by Turkish pirates.
A climb to the parish church of St. Nicholas (Sveti Nikola) will be rewarded by a lovely view of Mt. Biokovo and the Dalmatican coast across the Hvar Channel. The chapel of St. Barbara was erected on the site of an older structure from the 14th c. and reconstructed in 1621.
The village itself consists of four separate parts: Mala Banda with the church, Podstranje, Donje Poje and Grudac, all of which contain interesting specimens of rustic architecture. In Črvanj Cove 30 minutes south from Zastražišće, a cluster of simple houses and the ruins of a patrician residence (first Angelini, later Duboković-Nadalini). On the northern coast and close by Zastražišće the attractive Dubac Cove. Gdinj is situated 23 km away from Sućuraj and 8 km from Zastražišće - it was also a guard's outpost village from prehistory. The parish church of St George was built in the middle of the 16th century. It is surrounded today by dense cypress trees. The main altar in the renovated parish church was built in 1901 by Pavao Bilisnić, the original teacher of the world-famous Croat sculptor Ivan Meštrović. The house of Radovanović exhibits a collection of paintings and a library. Also interesting from the ethnographic point of view are rustic houses "Visković". The fortified summer house of the Angjelinovići was built in the bay of Gdinj called Smrska, while the tower of the Rector Matija Bartulović (from 1700) was erected in the nearby bay of Kožija.
About half-way on the road to Gdinj on the northern side of the island the twin coves of Pokarvenik (Pokrivenik) below imposing cliffs and another famous cave. The coves can now be approached on a good road branching off the main road (6 km from the crossroads). There is also a jetty for boats.
Check photo gallery of Zastražišće village on Island Hvar.
