Sentimental journey through the tourist history of Hvar
1868 — 2022
The year was 1868 and a group of respected citizens led by the then bishop Juraj Duboković, founded the Hvar Curative Health Society.
Today over 150 years later Hvar is the epitome of a modern Mediterranean tourist town. A continuous tourism development of Hvar gives us the opportunity to track some of the mayor events that brought us the shape and myth that Hvar is today as we say the "Pearl of the Adriatic".
Hvar Tourist Chronicle
>1868 The Hvar Curative Health Society was founded
>1876 Austrian Ignaz Tomaschek built his holiday house where Hotel Adriana is today
>1899 The Empress Elizabeth Hotel was built
>1914 The Hotel Kovačić opened
>1925 The Hotel Park was opened
>1927 The Hotels Slavija and Overland were opened together with the town bathing resort
>1939 The building of the Health Centre of Dr. Josip Avelini started – later Hotel Dalmacija
>1957 The town art gallery Arsenal was opened
>1959 The Hvar Hotel Company was founded
>1959 The Hvar Heritage Museum opened
>1961 The music drama festival Hvarsko Ljeto ( Hvar Summer ) was initiated
>1962 Hotel Pharos was built
>1967 The first modern private restaurant Zlatna Školjka ( The Golden Shell ) was opened
>1968 Hotels Adriatic and Galeb were built
>1968 The 100th anniversary of organized tourism in Hvar was festively celebrated
>1969 The Hotels Delfin and Sirena were built
>1969 The first disco club Moby Dick opened in Hvar
>1971 The Hotels Amfora and Bodul were built
>1972 The first private espresso coffee bar was opened called Aloha
>1979 The international sailing regatta Memorial Zdenka Roića was founded
>1985 A Nautical centre was opened in Palmižana, now ACY Marina Palmižana
>1986 The new Hotel Slavija was built and the hotel companies of Hvar amalgamated into one Sunčani Hvar ( Sunny Hvar )
>1992 The Hvar Tourist Board was founded
>1996 The Miss Adriatic festival, a beauty show from both sides of the Adriatic was founded
>1997 Hotel Croatia was opened
>1997 American tourist magazine Traveler named Hvar one of the most beautiful islands in the world
>1999 Carpe Diem a trendy Hvar night club of the 2000’s was opened on the Riva
>2003 Hotel Pharia and Podstine opened
>2008 Included in the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage were the following :
The Stari Grad field system and Stari Grad
The religious procession Za Križen ( The way of the Cross )
>2009 The Lavender Festival in Velo Grablje was established
>2011 CNN proclaimed the beach on the small island of Jerolim to be the most appealing naturist beach in the world
>2012 Hvar was ranked among the five most beautiful islands in the world by Lonely Planet and Conde Nast Traveller
>2013 Ultra Europe Music festival took place at Hotel Amfora, now a yearly event
>2014 The 400th anniversary of the historic theatre in Hvar was celebrated
