Svirče

The village of Svirče nestles in a small corner beneath Hvar’s highest point, the St. Nicholas Peak (626 m) and alongside the UNESCO-listed Stari Grad Plain. Its architecture is typical of the island: the stone houses, little stone pathways and picturesque courtyards are redolent of past times and will take you on a journey of distant visions.

The Church of St. Mary Magdalen was built in the 20th century on the site of a previous church dating from the 18th century. The belfry from the original church was preserved, but the addition of the cupola is unique on the island, and this central dome is a village landmark with a special charm.

One of the most beautiful cycling routes passes through the idyllic village of Svirče.

The tall sculpture at the entrance to the village, near the cemetery, honours those villagers who fell during World War II. it is the work of local artist and academician Dinko Vranković (1939 – 1996).

Many of Svirče’s inhabitants are engaged in viticulture, with the ‘plavac mali’ grape variety as their speciality Svirče’s ‘twinned’ settlement on the south side of Hvar is Ivan Dolac, which is especially well suited to cultivating ‘plavac mali’. Most Svirčans own holiday homes and weekend properties there.

Svirče is one of the six settlements which take part in the Maundy Thursday ‘Za Križen’ procession. Like the other participants, Svirče has its own particular versions of the singing which is a vital integral part of this 500-year-old tradition.

In one version, the name ‘Svirče’ is said to derive from the word ‘svirati’, meaning to play music, and legend has it that Svirče’s first settlers indeed came there to play their music, and then settled for good. Another, less fanciful version has it that the name derives from ‘svir’ meaning ‘water source’, and that the settlement was founded in this place because it had water.