History of Ugljan Island

Source www.ugljan.hr

Ugljan was inhabited since early stone age and as proof of that we have some artifacts around 3000 years old, and two unexploited caves (Karinja jama and a cave on Farca) probably have even older artifacts. First traces of the name of island we find at roman Plinius that says that there is an island of Lissa opposite Zadra. First known people that lived in Ugljan were Liburns , one Iliric tribe. In 4th century BC they built a village in the hill Čelinjak and fortified it, that wall and some square houses stand even today. Second Liburnian village was built in the hill of Kuranj. It got its name by the wall that has the shape of the ring (lat.corona) that can be seen even today.The Liburns were mainly involved in fishery, agriculture and cattle raising.

Romans conquered Ugljan by the middle of 1th century BC. By one colonist named Gellia the territory of Gellianum posum got its name. The land of Ugljan was added to the communal land by the authorities of the roman colony of Zadar, divided into peaces 714x 714 m, and given to its citizens. The inhabitants of Iliric tribe of Liburns were probably left in the margins of the town, occupied in cattle raising, fishery or working as hired laborers of the new roman colonists. The colonists were building Villae Rusticae, buildings for living and working, and there are still about ten ruins of them. The biggest is villa in gospodska gomila prema punti Supetar and Stivonu in Muline where you can find ruins of the roman olive mill, villa in Batalaska vala, villa in Fortostina, villa in Ladina njiva and Ćinta in Ceprljanda.

In early Christian times by the end of 3th century AD three nave basilica was built and it served as church by the end of 17th century. In early medieval times the Croats started to inhabited Ugljan and remains of many stone ornaments and names testify to that We also have testimonies of about 44 priests and glagolic written heritage. The majority of the land is still possessed by the town of Zadar that gives it or gives it on lease to famous aristocratic families that in 16th .and 17th .century build their castles.

The castle of the family Califfi, later Beršić, today castle Krešimir Ćosić in Gornje Selo, castle of the family Lipeus in batalaza today villa Stari Dvor, castle of the family Damijan Vrgada today Villa OleandaR, castle of the family Bartolozzi, later Medović, today owned by the family of Crnosija in Lucino Selo, castle of the family Ponte today owned by the family Stipanic, castle of the family Stocco today restaurant, Kaštel in Ceprljanda changed several owners, castle of the family Vlatković called Kranjac, castle of the family Benja later sold to the family Ferra in Cinta. Natives were free, they had their houses some land, free food for the cattle and they worked the land owned by aristocracy or church, mainly possessed by several convents of Zadar.

In the year of 1905. the inhabitants of Ugljan became owners of the land that they worked until then for the land lord Medovic. By the end of the 19 the century first inhabitants are leaving the town and becoming seamen are going over the ocean. They send the hard-earned money to their families who invest it in building new, more spacious houses. Most of these century-old houses are still homes for the heirs of old sailors and a place for rest for guests of Ugljan.