How Croatia’s most remote island lost its last residents

Svetac Island (Photo: Sl-Ziga/Public domain)

Svetac, a remote Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, holds a rich yet turbulent history and was until recently the most remote inhabited Croatian island.

Located 14 nautical miles west from Komiža on the island of Vis west of Vis, the island is also known as Sveti Andrija Island.

A team from the Croatian Television (HTV) series “Plovopis” visited the island and uncovered all the secrets of this rugged which used to have permanent residents.

The Island of the Zanki Family

The island also has the nickname of “the island of the Zanki family”, who arrived and settled there in the mid-18th century.

Svetac is particularly dangerous during the fierce south-easterly winds known as the “jugo,” which caused two family tragedies in the 19th century.

One especially tragic event occurred on 7th May 1802, when all four members of the Felanda family, who had lived on Svetac with the Zankis, were killed near Brusnik.

From that time, the Zankis became the island’s sole inhabitants.

However, the Zanki family also experienced their own devastating loss. On 2nd December 1869, six members of the family tragically died while disembarking from a boat.

Despite all the challenges and hardships, the Zanki family did not give up on the harsh and inaccessible Svetac.

The Zanki Family’s Legacy

Darko Zanki, who’s family lived on the now-uninhabited island for over two centuries, revealed that Jokotovi Cave on the island holds great importance for his family as it marks their “beginning,” the place where the first Zanki couple settled.

The first Zanki settlers came to the island as “pegajoli” or resin collectors.

“The resin was used for sealing ships,” Darko told HRT.

The demand for resin ended with the fall of Venice in 1797, though the Zankis had additional reasons to stop resin collecting. Some accounts suggest that envious locals from Vis may have sabotaged their work by cutting down trees, hoping to take over the trade themselves.

Svetac from the air (Photo: MrPanyGoff/CC BY-SA 4.0)

After resin collecting ended, the Zanki family did not abandon the island’s pine trees. They began the laborious work of gathering firewood, and in the 19th century, viticulture became an increasingly important source of income for them.

According to the population census in 1921, there were 34 Zanki family members. By the next decade, the number had grown to 58.

The most difficult period came after the war. Many Zanki family members had hoped that life would return to normal, with the return of a functioning market. However, instead, all agricultural produce and fish had to be sold to cooperatives.

The Church on the island (Photo: Cultural Goods Register/CC BY-SA 3.0 hr)

The population of Svetac began to dwindle irreversibly in the middle of the century. Young Zankis, like Darko, stayed on the island until they reached school age, after which they left.

Those who remained grew older.

Svetac, which in the first half of the 20th century had its largest population ever, lost its last two permanent residents by the end of the century.