The number which some consider lucky, and the others unlucky, has proved to be destined for the island of Krk as a whole. It was inhabited by Croats in the seventh century and attacked by pirates seven times. The seventh prince to rule over Krk was Ivan from the Frankopan line, the last prince of Krk.
Today, the island of Krk consists of seven local authority units. One of them is the Municipality of Dobrinj, and its centre is also under the sign of this “destined” number. Legend has it that the previously nameless “white town in the middle of the island” got its name at the seventh attempt only. It was named precisely by those who left this place empty-handed in search of loot, but with a full heart and a conviction that “only good people live here, since they receive the enemy as one of their own”.
The geographic position of Dobrinj is described by a folk song, the unofficial anthem of Dobrinj: a white town in the middle of the island, which can only be reached by crossing a stream is a loose translation of the lyrics written in the dialect of Dobrinj. And when you enter Dobrinj by crossing the stream from whatever side of the island, you will step into the year 1100, when the written history of this region begins. That is the year in which the “birth certificate” of Dobrinj and Dobrinjština was drafted, the Deed of Gift of Dragoslav the Famous (Listina slavnog Dragoslava), although the history of this region began long before the written records. Those marks of history are omnipresent even today in the form of material heritage – from the old part of the town which has preserved its authentic, defensive form until today to the local square, Placa, surrounded by sycamore trees defying time.
There is also a park, “Jardin”, where the world-renowned writer Ivo Andrić used to walk.
