Palagruža, the Republic of Croatia’s most remote lighthouse, can feel like a world all on its own in all types of weather, a rocky paradise under the sun, surrounded by the sparkling Adriatic sea during the warm summer months, and quite the opposite when the seasons turn and the wind blows.
When then the fog and mist descend over Palagruža and the sky turns white, that feeling of total isolation is enough to invoke thoughts of Jack Nicholson’s stunning performance all those years ago in Stanley Kubrick’s take on Stephen King’s book The Shining, a classic tale of an aspiring author slowly losing his mind to isolation.
Croatia’s most forbidding area, a far-flung rocky island pushed far away from the mainland, Palagruža isn’t really geared up for visits or tourism of any sort, which almost makes this idyllic yet somewhat haunting location more attractive to would-be visitors.
As Morski writes on the 9th of March, 2019, Tomislav Žuvela and his father, upon taking up care of the situation on Palagruža after Vojislav Šajn and Krešimir Tomašić went off on their well deserved break, captured the thick layer of fog which slowly surrounded the largest island of the distant Palagruža archipelago, Vela (or Velika) Palagruža, where a lighthouse was built. Tomislav briefly stated that fog sirens are no longer used there like they once were. Ship crews, in such cases, now rely solely on more reliable, more modern technology.
The fog which slowly engulfed Palagruža is as mysterious as it is beautiful, almost furthering the archipelago’s distance from civilisation and creating a sense of isolation that many people simultaneously crave and fear…
Video by Morski HR
If you’d like to watch some drone footage of Palagruža when the skies are clear and the sun is shining, click here. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to transport yourself from the heart of Sydney, Australia, and spend one month in this truly bizarre location, find out what it’s like to date the lighthouse keeper!
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