Old town Pag

The Old town is located about a kilometer away from the current center, just a short and pleasant walk along the coastline overlooking the bay of Pag. The former center of the powerful medieval town was built around the Franciscan monastery with the ruins left today only. The ghosts of the past are petrified on the facade of the Church of Santa Maria and numerous archaeological sites where megaliths and other artifacts from ancient times were found. The old town of Pag is deeply hidden in the bay of Pag. Kušljun was its port in the period of greatest economic boom, where the local population was transporting the salt. As the scene of numerous conflicts and wars, the city keeps old scars, which are now lost under the layers of time with its past glory having just a cultural value. In 1244 when Bela IV found refuge here fleeing from enemies, Pag got the free city certificate. Several legends are connected to this picturesque place burdened by history. According to the first, the inhabitants of Pag prayed to the Virgin for the salvation, during the great drought. As a result of it the well inside the Franciscan monastery filled up with drinking water during the night. Another one tells us the story of cholera, which ravaged the city in 1852. This time the locals had spontaneously gathered in prayer in the old town, and took the statue in the church choir, praying for salvation. The latest victims were buried in August of the same year and the citizens of Pag promised to bring the statue every year for the feast of the Assumption in old Pag. The statue stays there for the whole 22 days while people's express their thanks and gifts for all which moves them in their lives. Then the miraculous statue is returned to the Church of Santa Maria in the historic center where you can also visit it.