Makarska riwiera
In ancient times, the little village of Bast nestled by a freshwater spring which supplied the Biokovo area. During the 18th century, after the expulsion of the Turks, its inhabitant left the slopes of St. Ilija's (Elijah's) Ridge and descended to the shore, where they established Baška Voda, today a well-known tourist resort on the Makarska Riviera.
The name Baska Voda is mythological in origin and is linked with Biston, the patriarch of the Thracian Biston tribe, son of Ares, the Greek god of war, and the goddess Calliope, protectress of water. The military fort and springs near Baska Voda bear out this theory. Some of the richest archaeological sites that have yielded finds from Roman times are on the heights of Gradina and its surroundings.
These include burial sites with urns, lamps, jewellery, coins with the head of Alexander Severus Aurelianus and headstones bearing the names of 13 of the ancient inhabitants of Baška Voda, the loveliest of which commemorates a boy called Ursinus, who died in a shipwreck between 100 and 150 AD.
Baska Voda first appeared on the “Coranelli” geographical map, produced in 1688, as “Basca”. It was a small village which thrived on agriculture and fishing. The Late Baroque church of St. Lovro (Laurence), built in 1750, probably occupies an Antique site, while the parish church of St. Nikola (Nicholas), the patron saint of travellers and sailors, was built in the early 20th century.
In 1991, a bell-tower and rectory were added (Ante Rožić). The church contains stained-glass windows by Josip Botteri Dini and painted renditions of the Stations of the Cross by Josip Biffel, finished in 1989. The villages of Topići and Bast, above Baska Voda, are famous for their old Biokovo rural architecture and for their cheese, ham (prosciutto), and bread specialities.
Modern Baska Voda is about 10 kilometres south of Makarska and boasts crystal clear sea, more than 2,700 hours of sunshine annually and a host of cultural events and evening entertainment, in addition to water and land sports and recreational facilities (football, handball, tennis, table-tennis, mini-golf, hiking, fishing, scuba-diving schools and berths for sailors in the harbour, which has been widened).
Religious processions on Good Friday and on 6 December, St. Nicholas's Day (the patron saint of Baska Voda) are characteristic of the town. On the feast day of St. Lovro (10 August) a klapa singing festival is held, attended by groups from all over the Makarska area.
Once the home of labourers, fishermen, tradesmen and sailors, Baska Voda has grown into a modern, Makarska Riviera tourist resort, yet it retains its characteristic Mediterranean invigorating atmosphere, which the famous medical expert Dr. A.A. Frari of Venice described, when he wrote, “…this place exudes vitality and strength and would bring even a dying man back to life”.
