Blato, Korčula
| Blato | |
|---|---|
| Municipality | |
| Blato Municipality Općina Blato |
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panorama of town
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 Blato
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| Coordinates: 42°56′N 16°47′E / 42.933°N 16.783°E | |
| Country | Croatia |
| County | Dubrovnik–Neretva |
| Government | |
| • Municipal mayor | Ante Šeparović |
| Area | |
| • Total | 89.28 km2 (34.47 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 3,593 |
| • Density | 40/km2 (100/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 20271 |
| Area code(s) | 020 |
| Website | www.blato.hr |
Blato is a town on the island of Korčula in Croatia. It is a municipal centre and can be reached by the main island road from city of Korčula. The road runs through the forests in the middle of the island of Korčula.
The town was amphitheatrically built on several hills around a small central valley (40 km away from the town of Korčula). A long avenue of lime trees called Zlinje runs through it, along with the towns public buildings (recently built: schools, hotel, bank, shops, municipal building, medical centre etc.). There is a City park that provides exceptional shade during the summer months.
The climate in Blato matches the entire island of Korčula - it is located in the Adriatic which has a Mediterranean climate, characterized by long, quiet, dry and hot summer days with clear, short and mild wet winters. During the entire year the temperatures go below 10 °C in January and February, while June, July, August and September they average above 20 °C. Rainfall is typically Mediterranean, with a peak in late autumn and early winter and a minimum in July.
Blato got its name from a neighbouring field which flooded on regular basis, until 1911. The Blato field was occasionally drained. This created a lake that dried up during summer. The construction of canals and tunnels channelled drainage water into the sea on the north coast. It created conditions for successful exploitation of more fertile land in this region.
The town itself is one of the oldest settlements on Korčula and is situated in the middle of the western part of a field. The area of Blato is believed to have been settled during Roman times. There is a church, Our Lady of the Field, located on the Blato Field that has Roman floors that place its beginnings in the 4th century. Archaeological remains of Roman Junianum (agricultural estate) have been discovered. Other remains have been found in the local area dating back to prehistoric and Illyrian times.
Between World War I and World War II, when phylloxera attacked the grape vines, causing them to perish en masse. This greatly contributed to the economic crisis that was happening within the newly formed Yugoslavia. Blato was facing a mass exodus. It was the sixth largest place in Dalmatia, then a region of Austro-Hungary (Blato in 1910 had a population of 7102 ). During 1924 and 1925, about 890 residents abandoned their homes and left Blato. Whole families emigrated. to Australia and Brazil (especially São Paulo).
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Wikipedia