"Croats, according to the oldest traditions, called themselves the ‘Sun people’, or the ‘Sun warriors’. In the beginning there was nothing, there was a ‘Pre-darkness’, sea and dark sky, the only existing thing was the ‘Pre-egg’ in which rested ‘Svarog’, the divine creator. Under the influence of the life force, the egg cracked open and created the light. So, the forces that created the world were initiated, and from Svarog shadows ‘Crnobog’ was born, god of evil and suffering.
Our obsession with light given to us by our ‘gods’ can be seen in many photos published on social networks. Sunrise photos, sunset photos, are most liked and most welcomed to see, and, in some strange way, we are still cherishing Croatian forgotten gods while admiring beauty of the Sun.
The island of Hvar is said to be the number one hot spot of Europe, seeing more sunshine in a year than anywhere else. And the name Hvar and its origin? Its name Hvar, according to one version, is a Persian word meaning the ‘Sun’, in the Avesta, Hvar is the name for the ‘God of the Sun’.
The island was known also as ‘Pharos’, meaning ‘lighthouse’, by the Ancient Greeks. However, it’s not clear if the name really comes from the Greek word for lighthouse.
As part of the Roman province of Dalmatia, the island was known as ‘Pharia’ and, later, ‘Fara’. Under the linguistic influence of the newcomers, the official name became ‘Quarra’ because Slavic languages did not originally have the ‘f’ sound. Later, the name was changed further to Hvar.
Hvar has an annual average of 7.7 hours sunshine per day and 3.8 hours of cloud. This fact alone is a definite reason why this island should be on travelers bucket list, as island of Sun and the Light.
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