Dobrinj is a village and municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia, on the island of Krk. There are 2,150 inhabitants in the municipality, with 91% Croats. The village of Dobrinj itself has 89 inhabitants.
Geography
Dobrinj and the municipality of the same name is located on the northeast side of the island of Krk. The place is located at an elevation of about 200 meters above Soline Bay.
The municipality of Dobrinj comprises three cadastral communities: Dobrinj, Soline and Sužan, with 20 settlements, covering an area of 55 km2.
In relief, this area can be divided into a low zone (mainly around Soline Bay) and a high zone (Dobrinj, Kras, Gabonjin).
The Dobrinj municipality also covers much of the eastern coast of the island of Krk, facing Crikvenica and Vinodol on the mainland, with which it has always been closely connected. The coast is full of inlets, but apart from the reefs and cliffs, there is only one islet - Veli Skoljić. On the coast, the shallow bay of Soline, almost forming lakes, stands out, with low coastlines and three settlements: Klimno, Soline and Čižići. Other significantly smaller bays are Stipanja (which is the largest municipal settlement of Šilo), Petrina, Veterna, Murvenica, Jazbina, Lončarica, and Slivanjska.
Geologically, limestone and dolomite rocks dominate the area. Due to the faster erosion of dolomite, over millions of years, a layer of loose soil has been created that enabled the development of lush vegetation. Only in the principally limestone extreme northeastern part of the Košćera. In addition to limestones and dolomites, flysch zones occur, which, unlike porous limestone, are watertight. A river stream called Veli Potok has developed on one of these flysch zones.
Population
According to the 2021 census, Dobrinj municipality had 2,150 inhabitants, distributed in 20 settlements: Čižići - 133 Dobrinj - 89 Dolovo - 0 Gabonjin - 191 Gostinjac - 94 Hlapa - 91 Klanice - 47 Klimno - 130 Kras - 227 Polje - 285 Rasopasno - 125 Rudine - 5 Soline - 48 Sužan - 70 Sveti Ivan Dobrinjski - 41 Sveti Vid Dobrinjski - 64 Šilo - 418 Tribulje - 55 Žestilac - 11 Županje - 26
Ethnic/national composition, 2001: Croats - 1,799 (91.32) Bosniaks - 20 (1.02) Serbs - 16 (0.81) Germans - 9 (0.46) Montenegrins - 4 Hungarians - 3 Italians - 3 Albanians - 1 Czechs - 1 Poles - 1 Slovaks - 1 Slovenians - 1 others - 62 (3.15) undefined - 39 (1.98) unknown - 10 (0.51)
Administration
Chief: Neven Komadina (PGS)
Deputy Chief: Zoran Kirinčić (PGS)
Council President: Alen Šamanić (PGS)
Municipal Council:
Marinko Galanto, Tomislav Saftić, Dubravko Fanuko, Darko Strčić, Ivancica Dunato (PGS) Zdenko Kirincic, Robert Justinic, Ratko Turcic (HSLS) Miljenko Variola, Nenad Brusic (HDZ) Marino Samanic (HNS) Emil Grskovic (Independent)
History and population trends
There are many Roman sites in the municipality, mainly on the shores of Soline Bay and in the Gostinjac area, and it is assumed that saltworks existed in the Melina area at that time. In more recent explorations, carried out at St. Peter's Bay on the northwestern side of Soline Bay, remains of Roman pottery and ancient ports have been found. However, there are several sites indicating an Illyrian presence - the Zagrajini fort near Karst, Gradišće near Dobrinj, and Dobrinj, which itself was created at the site of the previous Illyrian settlement.
The history of Dobrinj is inextricably linked to the history of the entire island of Krk, of which it is an integral part. Dobrinj, along with Baška, Vrbnik and Omisalj, is one of the oldest (early medieval city centers), which were founded sometime in the 7th century, i.e. at the time of the Croats' migration to the present homeland. These castles, along with the already existing town of Krk, were most probably erected at the place where the Illyrians lived until then, as evidenced by the numerous Illyrian sites, as well as the very position on the hill overlooking the surroundings. The antiquity of these castles is also indicated by the archaic forms of Old Croatian, ie Old Caucasian speech, in Dobrinj - Čokavica. However, unlike other castles, Dobrinj was not located directly by the sea and never had ramparts, which may be the reason that it was repeatedly killed throughout history (in the 16th and early 17th centuries) pillaged by pirates and Uskok.
