SPECIAL FOREST VEGETATION RESERVE

GENERAL INFO

Lokrum is a nature reserve and a special forest vegetation reserve.
Therefore it is not allowed to endanger in any way the natural and cultural goods on the island, to throw the waste, bring dogs or light the fire. Smoking is prohibited. It is not allowed to stay on the island overnight.The arrival and the departure to and from the island are organized from the Dubrovnik Old Town port.
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PRICE LIST 2022
Adults 16+ = 200,00 kuna
Children 7-18 = 30,00 kuna
Disabled people = 30,00 kuna
Students & pupils = 30,00 kuna

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LOKRUM HISTORY

Grave goods at the Dubrovnik Museum indicate that Lokrum was inhabited since prehistoric times. A fragment of an ancient gravestone and four interlaced relief fragments, built into the south-west part of the former Benedictine monastery, were preserved. Certain records state that Lokrum was settled by the Benedictine monks around 915 A.D.
THE MONASTERY COMPLEX was first mentioned in 1023 as the first of many Benedictine monasteries on the territory of the Dubrovnik Republic. The entire island was owned by the monastery, while the abbey served also as a hospital and an almshouse until the mid-15th century.
The Roman Curia granted the mitre in 1149 to the Lokrum Abbot and ever since then the monastery’s abbots, after the archbishop, are considered the first prelates of the Dubrovnik Church.
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LANDSCAPE

Contemporary Dubrovnik is divided into two singular areas: the dense urban center within the city walls and Lokrum Island, a monument to nature and landscape architecture. Although different in character, these two spaces blend harmonically: covered in dense and lush autochthonous evergreen flora, the dark green Lokrum contrasts with the white stone of the Town, as a part of the renowned eastern panorama of Dubrovnik.
Records from the 15th century state that the Benedictine monastery’s estates on Lokrum were superbly landscaped and cultivated. The monastery was known for its cultivated plants and herbs as well as good wine but also beautiful gardens. The island’s name (lat. acrumen = sour fruit) indicates that the fertile land was probably cultivated since prehistoric times and that at least lemons and oranges were grown there.

VEGETATION

Dense vegetation covers 0.6km2 of Lokrum’s total surface area of 0.7km2. One can find in a single location and a small area all natural development stages of plant communities in the Mediterranean region of Europe, and is therefore protected as a Special Reserve of Forest Vegetation since 1976.
In order to protect diverse plant communities which are not of natural origin (olive groves, gardens, promenades, the botanical garden), human influence is indispensable for the proper management of the Reserve.
The plant community, mostly under the influence of climate, to which inclines the natural development or vegetation climax on Lokrum is the FOREST OF EVERGREEN OAK AND FLOWERING ASH. Since the forest was heavily logged in the past due to its high quality wood material, most of the island is today covered by its degradation stages: coppices and impassable macchia.

FAUNA

​The Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) lives in dry, rocky and shrubby habitats. It’s unusually resilient and survives injuries particularly well; it grows slowly but lives over a hundred years old. The tortoise feeds mostly on plants but also insects and carrion. It has been protected by law since 1965.
​The fast and timid Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) is the largest lizard in Central Europe, up to 40 cm long. It lives in warm and rocky areas with low shrubs and feeds on insects and their larvae, spiders and worms.
Lokrum has a great significance also for the migration of birds because it is their first resting-place after their flying over of big sea surfaces during the spring migration, and the last resting-place during the autumn migration. On the island 156 bird species aligned into 43 families are noted.
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MARINE WORLD

Lokrum is directly exposed to sea currents from the south and the Strait of Otranto, which influences the distribution of benthos organisms and planktons. A glimpse of this sea life can be seen in PORTOČ BAY.
The organisms living on cliff shores exposed to sea water spray must contend with constant changes in salt concentration and temperature and with the force of waves. Only rare organisms have adapted to such extreme conditions and vegetation is also very sparse.
In the intertidal zone, due to more favorable conditions, the biodiversity is higher than in the area exposed to sea water splash. These two areas are easily differentiated by color: cliffs in the intertidal zone are overgrown with various species of microscopic algae, which gives them a darker color than the rocks exposed to heavy wave action. Animals which live here have adapted to the changes in the conditions of the habitat.