NP Mljet
Mljet has a long and rich history and was first mentioned in the 4th century BC. Legend has it that the mistress of the Greek hero Odysseus, the nymph Calypso, chose this island as her home, where a cave named after the Greek adventurer, Odysseus, remained in the stone. Whether there is truth in the legend or not, only the sea knows the answer. Mljet belongs to the Dubrovnik group of islands.
More than four thousand years ago, this Mediterranean island was inhabited by the Illyrians, from whose time many fortifications have been preserved - towns and graves on the hill Veliki Gradac of the Great Lake. 35 BC Christ the Romans took power on Mljet where they built the third largest palace on the Adriatic, and the population was engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. At the end of the 8th century, the Benedictines pushed the Romans off the island and built a monastery and the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin on a small island in the Great Lake, which are today a tourist attraction. Benedictine monks carefully cared for the ubiquitous greenery and five different types of forests because by the end of the 18th century there was a ban on inhabiting the island.
It was not until 1793 that the Benedictines allowed the permanent settlement of farmers from Babino Polje to keep cattle for the needs of the monastery, so the place itself was named Govedari.
The sea, lakes, karst pits and caves - all this is present on Mljet. Every part of the island is a source of life. In 1960, the central part of the National Park was protected, and in 1997 the surrounding waters were added.
There are preserved forests of holm oak and Aleppo pine, salt "lakes", unique flora and fauna, indented shores, cliffs, cliffs and islands. The two "lakes" were created by cutting the sea into the body of the island and are a world phenomenon. The Big Lake has an area of 145 hectares and is up to 46 meters deep, and the Small Lake has an area of 24 hectares and a depth of up to 29 meters. The park also contains valuable remains of a Roman palace and health resort, two sacral complexes - the eastern and western basilicas, a fortress (Kastio) and boat docks. It is an island full of curiosities, and it is worth exploring
