Faust Vrancic Memorial Centre

Some of you might have heard of Faust Vrancic (Fausto Veranziano) - one of the famous and important Croatian inventors and historical figures who lived during the Renaissance in the mid-16th century in Dalmatia. He is mostly associated with the invention and use of the first parachute, sketches and designs of the suspension bridge, mills etc. which can be found in his book New Machines. He was also important in the field of linguists - he wroteDictionary of the five most noble languages reffering to Croatian, Latin, German, Hungarian and Italian. His work and ideas were of importance in the nearby countries in Europe at the time he lived.

Vrančić was born in the town of Šibenik but spent his childhood on the island of Prvić [Parvich] where is our museum located.

HOW TO GET TO THE MUSEUM?

Museum is located in the town of Prvić Luka on the relatively small, peaceful and beautiful island of Prvić (easy to remember, right? ). Island is 10-15 minutes boat ride from the nearby towns of Vodice and Šibenik. Both places are around an hour by car or bus from Zadar and two hours from Split. There is a daily schedule of how frequently the ship goes from the ports to the islands. Make sure you check the table and the prices for the period you'll be spending your time there!

In summer it goes several times a day from Vodice to islands, Šibenik and back. However the first ship after few lines around 6-7h is around 10-10. 30h in the morning which is a bit stupid if you ask me.

I can also give you a hint for buying the tickets for the ship. So, there are two places on the island where the ship stops - Šepurine and Prvić Luka. Šepurine are the first port and it takes cca 10-15 minutes walking from Šepurine to Prvić Luka (and the museum). So instead of paying 17 KN (2. 23 €) per person for the direct line Vodice-Prvić Luka rather buy Vodice-Šepurine for 12 KN (1. 57 €). You'll arrive to the island much earlier, escape the crowds and also have an opportunity to go quickly into the sea as there's a small beach with the nice clean sea. You can also walk a bit around the town and see the local houses and churches made from stone (mediterannean architecture) and enjoy walking through colder streets in shadows (you'll love it when it's +35'C outside). Sounds great?

If you're planing to go back to Vodice or an other port, my recommendation is to stay on the island for around 4 hours before the next line comes (around 15-16h) as it can also quickly become boring after you're done with the museum and other stuff. Unless this all is new for you. The most important thing is not to miss the boat, pay attention to the schedule!

The road to our destination

After 10-15 minutes by foot from Šepurine following only one road you're there in Prvić, on the other side of the island! You'll end up in another small bay with lots of boats and stone houses. Walk towards the center following the road and then you'll come to the Memorial Center.

MEMORIAL CENTRE OF FAUST VRANCIC

The Memorial Centre offers you an opporunity to get to know more about the life and work of our inventor. The Memorial center has both interior and exterior whereas the interior is the most important part. So let's start with it first.

First some information on how much you'll have to pay for the entrance:

• 20 KN for adults
• 15 KN for students and pupils
• FREE for children under 7, persons with special needs, members of professional associations, guides and group escorts

and there is a 10% discount on groups (min 20. persons).

You will be also asked politely if you want to get headphones - audio guides available in Croatian, English, German, French and Italian. The price for it is 20 KN and I don't recommend it if you need to save money unless you're really want to listen to the things (or if you have a Croatian friend with you, let them translate some stuff for you). The headphones are free for the blind and visually impaired.

There are lots of wooden models of his inventions (which might remind you of Leonardo da Vinci... or won't). Some models are presented in the real life size whereas some are of course only miniatures. The whole center is equiped with some modern stuff such as the multimedia displays which are mostly used for the young visitors where they have an opporunity to play games and at the same time get educated. Apart from multimedia stuff and models there are also many of the written examples of his work such as the books (and visitors are able to read some copies of his famous work). There is also a room where you can watch a video, a documentary filmed on the island with some of his inventions coming to life. And of course, there is a human-size doll depicting Mr Vrancic. The whole interior looks pretty modern and elegant especially when you compare it to other museums we have. There is also a souvernir shop where you can buy posters and t-shirts for 60 KN.

The exhibition in the interior can be seen within 15-20 minutes (for average visitors), depending on how patient or interested you are. That's the only minus from me for the price and what you get for it.

Now a bit about the exterior.

Once you reach the Memorial Centre you'll see that the entrance for the interior is on the first floor but you have a few things to be seen outside. There are stairs that lead you to the second floor with a cafe. There is a suspension bridge above the stairs that you can cross (mostly fun for children but also for all those selfie-maniacs and hey-i-was-here-look-at-me kind of people). At the top of the stairs you will be welcomed by the statue of Faust Vrancic and his parachute (kind of his symbol) where you will most likely take a photo of you and him together. Next to it is the mentioned bar and also a place to seat in the shadows (perfect if you're waiting for your friends downstairs). If you need to go to the toilet / restroom, there is one next to the entrance of the interior of the MC. And that's it folks.

The working hours of the museum during the Summer saison (15th July - 15h September) are Monday 9-4pm and Tuesday-Sunday 9-10pm. You can find more about it here.

The whole project was financially supported by the European Union.

WHAT TO DO AFTER THE CENTRE?

If you still have some time before the ship (and you'll have it) you can enjoy the food at the nearby restaurants in the same street or the beach next to it. The port is also ca. 50m away from the Memorial Centre.

What I recommend is to go to the other side of the bay (walking 10-15 minues again, tough life) and find your place under the shadows and jump into the clean sea and get refreshed. No better feeling than diving and swimming in the warm, clean, blue sea on the island far from the crowds and thousands of noisy tourists. Most of you will probably fall asleep within seconds listening to the 'peace and quiet' (you'll only hear the chirruper but that's kind of a thing on the coast, you'll feel bad ones you don't hear them any more). If you like to explore things, you may take a walk on the road that goes through the pines and then a bit up on the island to the other side where you can find the rocks and also sort of a beach if you decide to jump in. The same is on the side where you'll be waiting for the ship, if you go 100 more meter forward following the streets in the shadows, you can just lay on the huge rocks with your towels beneath and enjoy the sun. I haven't done a whole circle around the island but that will be in another post.

Thanks for reading and hope you'll enjoy your time on the island.