Travel Guide Mljet

It is the southernmost island of the Croatian archipelago and the largest of the islands in the Dubrovnik region.Mljet has remained very wild and little built, as the west of the island is protected as a national park and forest covers about 70% of Mljet's area. The villages of Pomena, Polače and Sobra are located in the north, as the north coast is too exposed to the winds.Mljet was first mentioned by Homer, yet there is no evidence that the Greek people had settled on the island. It is said that the winds of Poseidon drove Odysseus to the island, where he stayed with Calypso, forgetting Ithaca for several years.Another legend tells that in 61 AD, St. Paul was shipwrecked in the vicinity of Mljet. Although historians have not proved it, the inhabitants use his name many times in their expressions and prayers. The Romans settled there and built a large palace at Polače, and then the Illyrians settled in the interior of the island.Mljet was later offered to Benedictine monks from the Apulia region of Italy, before returning under the authority of Dubrovnik in the 14th century.