More than 1,000 islands line the coast of Croatia, and only a few dozen of them are inhabited. The others are all shapes and sizes, and it’s only now, in this era of drones and aerial photography, that some are becoming known for a whole variety of strange reasons.
In 2023, there was the charming case of Galešnjak, the heart-shaped getaway in the Pašman Channel that made headlines around the world when a large plot was put up for sale.
And now there’s Bavljenac – the tiny island that looks like a fingerprint. This islet in the Šibenik archipelago has gone viral because of the unusual network of drywalls that covers its surface, resembling everyone’s unique fingertip identity.
This specific appearance across its 0.14 square kilometres of surface has come about because of the 23 kilometres of drywalls made by human hand – the hands of the inhabitants of nearby Kaprije, who throughout history have cultivated the land on this small island. They put up dry stone walls to separate plots of vineyards and olive groves, and protect their crops. These have been preserved to this day and create a stunning visual effect that has now made Bavljenac famous.
Bavljenac is a perfect example of the Dalmatian tradition of building drywalls, which has been used for centuries and has become part of UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage.