The Museum Ship Lošinjski Loger “Nerezinac”

The restored traditional cargo ship “Nerezinac” is anchored in the port of Mali Lošinj. The ship is a two-masted topsail schooner, a so-called Lošinjski Loger, built at the end of the 19th century, capable of carrying 80-220 tonnes of cargo. As a maritime museum, it commemorates the shipbuilding tradition in the upper Adriatic and has been lovingly restored with great attention to detail, for example, the rope fenders or the blocks and deadeyes in the shrouds.

The island of Lošinj is separated from the island of Cres only by an artificial canal near Osor. The twelve-metre-wide canal was dug in antiquity and is spanned by a drawbridge that opens twice a day for ships. We got to know some of the island’s sights and beautiful places the year before, such as the towns of Mali Lošinj and Veli Lošinj, the Krivica Bay, the Osoršćica Mountains. This time, on our journey along the Croatian Adriatic coast , we only stayed briefly on Lošinj to take the ferry via Premuda, Silba, and Olib to Zadar. We had left the campsite in Cres early that day. In Osor, we stopped for a short walk through the town and a look at the canal with the bridge. It’s hard to believe that up to 30,000 people are said to have lived here in the Middle Ages. Finally, we reached Lošinj and parked in the queue at the ferry terminal.

Instead of waiting in the scorching sun, we used the time for a stroll along the palm-lined harbour promenade into the lively town centre. In front of the Museum of Apoxyomenos in Kvarner Palace, dedicated to a perfectly proportioned Greek statue of an athlete discovered in the sea in 1997, the “Nerezinac” lies at the quay. Even in a café under a parasol, little refreshment is possible on this midsummer day due to the stagnant heat. Only later, on the upper deck of the ferry to Zadar, did a gentle breeze and the open sea provide some cooling.

More pictures in the Croatia Gallery.