Nature heals the body and soul

Rab is one of our greenest and most forested islands. In addition to the fact that plants enrich the landscape, making it more picturesque and more beautiful, the island’s lush vegetation provides more oxygen in the air, neutralising the adverse impact of CO2, while its herbal and marine aerosols has a therapeutic effect on human health.

Rab was named after its forests

Liburnians, a tribe from the ancient Illyria who were the first known inhabitants of the territory known today as the Town of Rab named it Arb, which means dark, opaque, green, that is, forested. Its name derives from pine woods, or, more specifically, holm oak forests, that were more numerous at that time than today.

The most preserved holm oak forest in the Mediterranean

On the Kalifront Peninsula, you will find the largest, the most beautiful and the most preserved holm oak forest in the entire Mediterranean. It is called the Dundo Forest. The forest reserve represents one of the greatest natural resources not only of the Island of Rab, but of Europe as well.

Rab is the only place in Europe besides Istanbul to produce silk

The Byzantine Empire had an imperial monopoly over the production of silk and Rab became the first place outside the Empire in the Middle Ages to produce silk. The holm oak forest represented the important resources of Rab because the island used to pay the levy to Venice during the Venetian Empire’s rule in silk, which is obtained from silkworm.

If you cut the forests, you will row in the galley

In order to protect the forests, the Doges of Venice in different Doge’s Palaces banned wood cutting on the Island of Rab under threat of a penalty. These important resources had to be protected in a very clever way. Therefore, the illegal logging was punished with rowing in a galley and on their way home, the culprits had to compensate for damage.

Clouds of smoke over Rab in winter and in summer

In the medieval Rab, wood was an indispensable natural resource, and for the purpose of food preparation, there were clouds of smoke over the Town of Rab both in winter and summer. The inhabitants of the Town of Rab used to spend as many as 40 tonnes of wood per day just to feed themselves.

Kalifront – the greenish-blue oasis of Rab

The Kalifront Peninsula is criss-crossed by numerous fire access roads, side roads and paths, making it the perfect relaxation, hiking and cycling spot. Its indented coast hides a number of bays deeply recessed into the mainland, as well as the beaches overgrown with lush pine and oak forests.