Rab (town)

Rab (Italian: Arbe, Latin: Arba) is a town (grad) on the island of Rab in Croatia. According to the 2011 census the total population of the town was 8,065, whereas only 437 lived in the titular settlement (naselje). Rab, the settlement, is located on a small peninsula on the southwestern side of the island.

Rab
Town
Historic town center of Rab
Rab Location of Rab within Croatia
Coordinates: 44°45′22″N 14°45′40″E
Country	Croatia
County	Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Island	Rab
Government
• Mayor	Nikola Grgurić (HDZ)
• City Council	15 members • HDZ, HSS, RPS (8) • SDP, HNS, HSU, PGS (5) • Independents (2)
Area [1]
• Town	75.9 km2 (29.3 sq mi)
• Urban	0.4 km2 (0.2 sq mi)
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Town	7,161
• Density	94/km2 (240/sq mi)
• Urban	364
• Urban density	910/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	51 280
Area code	051
Website	rab.hr

The town has a long history that dates back to 360 BC when it was inhabited by the Illyrians. The island was the frontier between the regions of Liburnia and Dalmatia. From the third century BC to the sixth century AD Rab was part of the Roman Empire, and Emperor Augustus proclaimed it a municipium in 10 BC. It was the first town of Roman Dalmatia to be given the honorary title "felix".

Among the signatories of the Second Council of Nicea was a bishop of Rab, namely Ursus. (“Ursus episcopus Avaritianensium ecclesiae” Ursus of Rab)^[3][4]

The worst disaster in the town's history was an outbreak of the plague in 1456 that decimated the city's population.

There are many churches in the town. The largest is St. Mary the Blessed, which was built in the 13th century. The church of St. Justine is now a museum of sacred arts, while the chapel of St. Christopher (dedicated to the patron saint of the island) is nowadays called the Lapidarium. The four church bell towers became the symbol of the town and island. The oldest dates back to the eleventh century.

Saint Marinus, the Christian founder of San Marino, was a native of Rab who is said to have fled the island under Diocletian's persecution in AD 301.

Population

Town of Rab: Population trends 1857–2021

population	3589	3952	4279	4525	4465	5099	5099	6352	7230	7757	7849	8041	8496	9205	9480	8065	7161
	1857	1869	1880	1890	1900	1910	1921	1931	1948	1953	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2011	2021

Sources: Croatian Bureau of Statistics publications

• v

Gallery

• 
  View of Rab from air
• 
  Statue of San Marino
• 
  Streets of Rab
• 
  Old Town
• 
  Ivan Dominis Promenade
• 
  Arbiana Hotel

International relations

Rab is twinned with:

• City of San Marino, San Marino(1968) ^[5]

References

1. Register of spatial units of the State Geodetic Administration of the Republic of Croatia. Wikidata Q119585703.
2. "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements" (xlsx). Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2021. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2022.
3. Basić, Ivan (2018). New evidence for the re-establishment of the Adriatic dioceses in the late eighth century. Oxford. pp. 261–287. ISBN 978-1-138-22594-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. Škegro, Ante. The Sarnian diocese (Sarniensis Ecclesia) (PDF).
5. "Ricorre quest'anno il 50° anniversario del gemellaggio San Marino-Arbe - San Marino Fixing" (in Italian). 17 October 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-13.

External links

• Virtual tour of Rab town with photo gallery
• About town Rab history, squares and church towers

Attribution

• The original version of this article was taken from the Wikipedia article Rab.