History and culture
Throughout its history, Lumbarda was a meeting-point of different nations and cultures. According to current research the first inhabitants were the Illyrii, ruling the island during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Their artefacts can be found in the graves and strategic stone stacks concentrated primarily on the western areas of Lumbarda.
With the incursions of the Greeks into the Adriatic, the island emerged into recorded history as Korkyra Melaina (black Corfu). The region was of great importance to the Greeks, who founded two settlements on the island.The later settlement was founded in the 3rd century in Lumbarda. The most famous and historically significant ancient stone inscription found in Croatia – known as the Psphisma from Lumbarda - bears witness to that historic event.
The Psephisma is now kept in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. It sets out the details surrounding the establishment of the colony and, amongst other things, provides information on the Greeks from the island of Issa (today Vis) who founded the settlement with the prior agreement with the representatives of the local Illyrii, Pil and his son Daz.
The Psephisma was discovered on the top of the hill Koludrt, where the Issian town most likely once stood. Somewhat south, in the Sutivan area, is the necropolis colony from which came the Greek vases now kept in the Korčula City Museum.
The founding of that Greek colony marked the beginning of the end of the Illyrians' era on Korčula, but their final downfall occurred during the invasion by the Roman Emperor Octavian in 35 B.C. The first Roman families arrived on the island very soon after. One of these owned a spacious villa in the Knežina region of the Veli area dating back to the first century. Apart from its total size, that villa is particularly interesting due to the way it was built – of small pyramidal blocks placed in a slanted net. This technique is called opus reticulatum. It was typical for the Roman regions in Italy, but the Lumbarda villa is unique on the Adriatic east coast.
Significant Roman remains are also to be found in the Koludrt and Sutivan regions. In Sutivan there was a thermal facility belonging to a smaller settlement with its own necropolis. There is also evidence of Roman quarries on the nearby islets of Sutvara, Vrnik and Kamenjak in the Lumbarda Bay.
Evidence of the later classical age was preserved in the region mainly through remains from early Christian times. Of all these the best preserved is the chapel of St. Barbara on the island of Sutvara, dating to the 6th century.
The absence of any remains from the early Middle Ages confirms the notion that Lumbarda was then all but abandoned. Its present name first appears in the Korčula Statute of 1214. One of its provisions prohibits the permanent settlement of Lumbarda and imposes a fine on anyone who might want to spend the night there. So it is not surprising that the only witnesses of that time are two sacred buildings, the church of St. John in Sutivan and that of St. Barbara in Žabnjak. The former is the oldest church in Lumbarda, mentioned in 1388 as then alreadyderelict. It was rebuilt several times until 1893 when a new church was built on the ruins. The church of St. Barbara in Žabnjak was most likely built towards the end of the 13th century, and it also had to be rebuilt: first in 1728, and once again towards the end of the 19th century in its present form.
In 1420 Korčula came under the long-lasting authority of the Venetian Republic and since then it has shared its history with Dalmatia.
With the resulting stabilisation of the island there began the continuous settlement of Lumbarda. In the 16th century, it was grouped around churches built mainly on private land owned by the Korčulan nobles. The oldest of these churches is that of St Roch in Vela Glavica, probably built at the beginning of the 16th century since its expansion is mentioned in 1561. It took its present form in 1886, while the bell-tower was erected in 1996.
The church of St Barthol in Vela Postrana, the church of St. Peter and Paul in Vela Glavica, the church of Mary’s Visitation (Gospica) in Mala Glavica, and the church of the Holy Cross in the Field were all built in the 16th cenury.The latter was renovated in 1774, and a lodge was added in 1881 to accommodate the increasing number of parishioners.
The parish of Lumbarda, founded in the 16th century, is first mentioned in 1612 at the diocesan synod in Korčula. The parish registers originate from the same century: marriages from 1620, deaths from 1635 and baptisms from 1641.
In the 17th and 18th centuries Lumbarda became a rural retreat for the Korčula bishops and nobility. The first summer residence that has been preserved belonged to the diocese and was built in the 15th century in the cove of Bilin žal. Two centuries later rural architecture matured and the favoured parts of the area were Tatinja and Prvi žal. At that time castles were also built, with defensive as well as business functions. Thus due to their height Cankin’s and Nobilo’s castles above the Tatinja cove, and the tower in the Velo polje vineyards dominate their surroundings.
In 1900, the church of St. Spiridion was built in Javić, and in 1922 the chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes at the base of Koludrt.
Numerous Lumbarda artist made a significant contribution to this era, some of whom gained world recognition. They include the sculptor Frano Kršinić (1897-1982), Ivo Lozica (1910-1943), Lujo Lozica (1934), the amateur sculpturer Ivan Jurjević - Knez (1920-2007), the painter Stipe Nobilo (1945), and the conductor Ivo Lipanović (1958).
The 19th and 20th centuries were characterised by the formation of various religious, cultural and artistic associations. In 1857 the brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament was established, later to be joined by the brotherhoods of St. Roch and Our Lady of Karmen. The traditional music ensemble was founded in 1929, while the church choir was formed in 1935. Two of the latest associations are the cultural association “Ivo Lozica”started in 1980 and the girls' church choir started in 1999.
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