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 Vela
Luka (4464 inhabitants)
is the biggest town on
the island and is 42 km
far away from the town
of Korcula. Vela Luka
is the oldest and the
youngest settlement on
the island at the same
time. On the hill spilinski
rat, Northeast of the
village, on about 100
m attitude above sea-level,
is the Vela Spila (the
big cave) - the most significant
pre-historic deposit of
Korcula. the rich Neolithic
culture of the “Circle
of Hvar” (3200 before
Christ) communicated over
sea with the neighbours
of the Adriatic and the
Mediterranean. The attractive
collection of discoveries
is exhibited in the Homeland
museum in the Palace Franulovic-Repak
near the parish church.
Vela Luka developed at
the beginning of the 19th
century in a deep, protected
bay. Beside houses there
are a few hotels and the
rehabilitation centre
for rheumatic diseases
and posttraumatical conditions
“Kalos”. The population
is dealing with agriculture,
fishing, tourism and there
is the shipyard “Greben”,
the fishprocessing factory
“Jadranka” and other smaller
industrial and farm plants.
In the big private exhibition
gallery of Anka Prizmic-Sege,
opened in 1983, are numerous
sculptures and paintings
of this artist born in
Vela Luka. The parish
church of St. Joseph is
a classical building finished
in 1848. The stations
of the Way of the Cross
- 15 smaller relieves
- were made by Anka Prizmic.
The chapel of St. Vicence
is from 1589; it was reconstructed
several times and it contains
the bust sculpture of
Don Ivan Oreb, a priest
who did a lot for the
cultural development of
Vela Luka in the 20th
century, and it was made
by Anka Prizmic, as well.
The cultural-artistic
society “Hum” is tending
to music and folklore
and choral singing. There
is a number of choral
groups in Vela Luka as
well, and the best known
are “Osjak” and “Greben”.
They have success on concerts
in Croatia and abroad
with their high artistic
level of interpreting
national folk songs.
In the surrounding of
Vela Luka are numerous
bays convenient for swimming
and sun-bathing, and most
attractive are the nearby
small island of Osjak
and Proizd.
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