Description:

Lokrum - the eternally green islet of romantic beauty, right off the coast of Dubrovnik is a true oasis of peace, and one of the most attractive excursion sights for residents of Dubrovnik and its visitors. With its maintained bathing sites and bays, view of the sunny open sea, fragrant sea, woods of pine, laurel and the lush subtropical vegetation, and with its old Benedictine monastery and walking trails along the shaded alleys, the islet gives an unforgettable impression. In the bosom of the fragrant park is the former Benedictine monastery (from the 12th century), which was closed down during the time of the Napoleon occupation. Later, the monastery and the islet as a whole came into the possession of the Habsburg Archduke Maximilian and became his summer residence in 1859. Maximilian renovated the monastery in the neo-Gothic style and built a castle in the shape of a tower. Following Maximilian's tragic death in Mexico, the islet changed hands several times, and today is a protected nature park. During the French occupation, the French erected a citadel, called "Fort Royal" at the highest point on the island, which today is a looking point offering the loveliest view of Lokrum and the whole of Dubrovnik. A special attraction on Lokrum is its small lake, called the "dead sea". The castle today is home to the Biological Institute of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Natural Sciences Museum, with its valuable collections and memorial collection of world renowned Dubrovnik mathematician, atomist and astronomer, Ruder Boskovic (18th century). Transport to Lokrum is organized in tourist boats from the Dubrovnik old town port.