Sveti Juraj, Near Senj

I’m sorry to say that, despite my best endeavours, Sv Juraj still remains something of a mystery to me. If I’d seen the statue of St George, at the time I was having my coffee,  then I would have asked the waitress a lot more questions!

However part of the fun of blogging my trip when I get back home is that I get to delve into what is now quite an extensive library on all things Croatian and find out some obscure fact relating to an unsolved mystery arising from my travels. This time I have drawn two blanks: not only do I not know what the connection is between Sveti Juraj and its namesake saint, St George (see Croatia Online - St George Slays Dragons All Over Croatia), but nor have I been able to establish the exact history of its two sets of ruins.

The ruins in the main picture above are on the mainland and the other, smaller, mound of stone is on the tiny nearby islet of  Lisac – see picture below.

The best I can offer is the paragraph below from thee Senj Tourist Board site http://www.tz-senj.hr/en/offer/sveti-juraj/

On the old graveyard by the sea you can see the St Juraj church and abbey, and nearby there are the remains of St Filip and Jakov church. People have been living here continuously since Roman times.

So, if anyone reading this can help me solve the mystery of St George and the ruins, please add a comment.

History aside, Sv Juraj is a typical example of “The Mediterranean As It Once Was”, the slogan now dumped by the national tourist board.  Everything flows around the small harbour and there’s a pizzeria, café, shop and harbour master’s office. It’s a lovely little place that I would imagine retains its soul and character throughout the year  and doesn’t see too much of a tourist invasion in the summer.