An oasis of peace until recently, with the Franciscan monastery and the land surrounding it offering a view on an ancient sacred area (temenos), the Sumartin of today represents, together with Supetar and Bol, the gate to the island of Brac. Ferry traffic, tourist yachts and local trawlers as well as a visit to the nice museum of the monastery give an impression of a lively tourist resort. The unpol-luted sea (bathing is possible even in the port), the fresh fish catch of the local trawlers, primarily the beautiful nature, the possibility to enjoy intact scenery of the island where wholesome food (cheese, honey, lamb, wine) is produced, as well as the entertainment offer of nearby Bol make Sumartin an attractive summer resort.
 

SUMARTIN, a village and harbour in the cove of the same name on the south-eastern coast of the island of Brac; population 618. Chief occupations are farming, viniculture, olive growing, fishing and tourism. Situated on the regional road running along the island; ferry port and connection with Makarska. Smaller vessels can berth in the port, and larger vessels can anchor in the centre of the cove.
 

Sumartin was established around 1645 by refugees from the coastal region of Makarska fleeing from the Turks (the only place on the island of Brac in which the Stokavian dialect, or standard Croatian, is spoken). The Franciscan monastery, whose foundations (1747) were laid by the most published Croatian poet Father Andrija Kacic Miosic, who, according to the chronicles, was carrying the stones on his back, has its own archives and mu-seum. The museum has recently been modernized, so that, apart from several valuable Venetian Baroque paintings, portolans (multicoloured navigation charts drawn by hand), it holds jewellery, the new coat of arms of the monastery, ethnographic collection, etc. On the area of Glavica above the village, the pre-Romanesque church of St. Nicholas with a dome (10th c.) rises. It is considered to be the votive church of the seafarers, having maintained its sacral function up to now.