Hvar: Brusje lavender fields
Type
Site of historic interest: Hvar’s lavender industry
Much of Hvar’s surviving lavender industry is centred around the 16th Century mountain village of Brusje. While the village itself has always struck us as a bit ‘down at heal’ there are a number of roadside lavender stands as you pass through.
The interest however is in the lavender fields that surround the village. Do not expect the regimented rows of the lavender fields of Provence, these are something completely different. Massive tufts of lavender grow up to 1.5 metres in height in apparently random fields between stone walls and massive piles of cleared limestone. In some areas the lavender plants stretch for as far as the eye can see then in other areas you will find a few plants in a freshly maintained field sitting next to abandoned and over grown fields and houses.
As you travel through the mountains between Stari Grand and Hvar Town you will also see big tracts of abandoned fields that tell of the extent of Hvar’s lavender production into the early 20th Century. It is fields such as these that once surrounded the pretty mountain town of Vela Grablje
Access
Brusje is accessed by road either from Hvar Town or Stari Grad.
Links
Location
Otok Hvar: Take the mountain road from Hvar Town to Stari Grad. You will pass through the village of Brusje and then find yourself in the active fields of Lavender. Park safely on the side of the road to view the fields.
Saturday, 23 April 2011
