Exploring the beauties of the Bay of Kotor. St. Mark's Island.
St. Mark's Island is the largest and most beautiful island located in the Boko Kotor Bay of the Adriatic Sea.
Initially, St. Mark's Island was called St. Gabriel's Island (Sveti Gavrilo) because of the church of the same name built on it. The first mentions of the island of St. Gabriel, as well as the legends associated with it, are found in the chronicles of the 7th century. They say that there were about ten temples and chapels on the island, the most magnificent of which, the Church of St. Gabriel the Archangel, towered on the hill of the same name.
In 1962, the island was leased to the French hotel chain Club Mediterrane, which organized the exclusive resort village of St. Mark here (St. Mark is one of the evangelists, the patron saint of Venice, revered by the Mediterranean people of the Christian faith). Over time, the island itself began to be called as a settlement - St. Mark's Island. About 500 reed huts were built on the island in the Polynesian (Tahitian) style — without water and electricity supply. The pristine nature, primitive living conditions, clean beaches and pleasant Mediterranean climate attracted a huge number of nudists from all over the world who sought solitude with nature.
After the collapse of Yugoslavia and due to further military operations in the country, the resort was abandoned, and the sandy beach, stretching along the entire coast of the island for almost five kilometers, was overgrown with lush vegetation.
