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Each nation
has its own holy mount - the Greeks have Olympus, the nations
of central Europe have the Alps while the Japanese have
Mount Fuji. Croatia's very own holy mountain is Velebit.
Its peaks are the home of the Croat's good spirit - Vila
Velebita (the Fairy of Velebit). I Even though it is not
as high as Dinara, Kamesnica or Biokovo, |
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this mountain occupies the central position in the collective
consciousness of the Croatian people. It is an integral
part of the national identity, a symbol of Croatia which
distinguishes it in the world. Velebit has earned this place
in the spiritual relief of Croatia owing to its geographic
position, its peculiar features and the place it has in
the hearts and minds of the people.
Velebit is the longest mountain of the Dinaric system. It
rises along 145 km in a gentle northwest-southeast curve
between Vratnik saddle and the Zrmanja valley. The saddles
diagonally divide its giant belly and represent the traditional
division of the mountain range into: the northern area (between
Vratnik and Veliki Alan), the central area (between Veliki
Alan and Baske Ostarije), the southern area (between Ostarije
and Mali Alan) and the southeastern area (between Veliki
Alan and the upper Zrmanja valley). Its western border is
Velebit Channel of the Adriatic Sea, while to the east it
borders with Lika-Gacka plateau at 425-600 m above sea level.
Its width, in air line terms, varies between 30 km in the
north and only 10 km in the south. Inspite of the fact that
it leaves the impression of a colossal mountain, Velebit
is not particularly high. Its highest peak - Vaganski vrh
- is only 1757 m high.
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