Omišalj is a small coastal town in the north-west of the island of Krk

Krk

Krk is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county....

 in Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

. The population of the town itself is 1,790 (2001), while the Omišalj municipality also includes the nearby Njivice, bringing the total up to 2,998 people. Omišalj is best known in modern times for hosting the Rijeka Airport

Rijeka Airport

Rijeka Airport is the airport serving Rijeka, Croatia. It is located near the town of Omišalj on the island of Krk, 17 km from the Rijeka railway station....

 as well as Port of Rijeka

Port of Rijeka

The Port of Rijeka is a seaport in Rijeka, Croatia, located on the shore of the Kvarner Gulf in the Adriatic Sea. The first records of the port date to 1281. It was the main port of the Kingdom of Hungary in the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, of Yugoslavia between World War II...

 oil terminal.

Ancient history

Omišalj is one of the oldest towns on Krk

Krk

Krk is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county....

, dating from the 3rd century, when it was built by the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 and named Fulfinium. The town was built on the cliff overlooking the bay of Kvarner, some 80 meters above sea level.
It is the site of an early Christian basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

. The town was referred to in the 12th century as "Castri musculi": this is from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

Ad musculi meaning "the place of shells".

External links

• Omisalj municipality
• http://www.krkinfo.com/omisalj.htm
• http://www.croatiainfo.net/e_Omisalj.html
• http://www.janaf.hr/