Did you know that there is a botanical and zoological garden on Hvar Island? You didn't? Read on and find out more. I was once sitting over a map, thinking about where else to go...
Private Zoo
It started quite innocently. The owner of the Gariful restaurant, Mr. Ivan Gospodnetić, established a farm about 1 km from the town of Hvar, where he grew vegetables for his restaurant. Over time, he moved to the farm, bringing his domestic animals with him. And so, gradually, the construction of a private zoo began, which is more like a farm with domestic animals. The first was a Kazakh eagle; today, you can also see a crocodile, a monkey, or even an ara parrot there.
I once stumbled upon the fact that there's a private zoo on Hvar Island online and only remembered it last year. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to visit it this time, so I'm keeping it in my plans for the next trip. According to an article on the Slobodna Dalmacija website (a Croatian newspaper), admission should be free, and there should be approximately 70 animals to see. All the information mentioned I gathered from the Croatian internet; I haven't verified it on site yet. But I'm already really looking forward to this trip, which I hope we'll make this year.
Katovnica Botanical Garden
I stumbled upon the botanical garden quite by chance on a map. And so, we set off. The entrance to the botanical garden is located near the town of Dol, by the road from Dol to Vrbanje, and you can easily miss it from the road. It is not grandly marked. Parking here is a bit wild; you either have to park your car in the garden's entrance or somewhat haphazardly on the opposite side of the road, as there isn't a proper spot. However, probably few tourists know about this garden, so there are no crowds, and you can therefore park at the entrance. We were the only ones there.
The botanical garden was founded by Mr. Matko Roić, a chemistry and biology teacher from Stari Grad, in 1995, and he still takes care of it. For each plant, you will find its name in Croatian, in dialect, and in Latin. And what plants will you see there? Of course, there are many olive trees, lavender, sage, rosemary, immortelle, vitex, Dalmatian chrysanthemum, butcher's broom, honeysuckle, thyme, lemon balm, plantain, pistachios, almond trees, carob (St. John's bread or carob), and many others. Simply all local plants and herbs. And that was also the main idea of the botanical garden's founder. Reportedly, there are up to 250 species of plants here.
There you will find a collection of plants, a model of Hvar Island, a collection of Hvar stones and soils, and you will also see a restored trim and a small meteorological station. Some of these things can be seen marked in the photo on the botanical garden's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=141386707347920&id=104969544322970
If you happen to be heading this way on Hvar, stop here; the garden is small and you'll walk through it quickly. It's definitely worth seeing. The botanical garden is also part of the Starigradsko polje, which is inscribed on the UNESCO list.
