Stari Grad Plain

UNESCO World Heritage agricultural landscape unchanged since Greek colonization in the 4th century BC. The stone-walled field system (chora) is the best-preserved example of ancient Greek land division in the Mediterranean.

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1 Stand Inside the Oldest Living Map in the World History · Free

   In 385 BC, Greek colonists from Paros surveyed this plain and drew 75 perfectly equal rectangles in stone. You are standing inside their geometry right now.

   Where: The eastern edge of Stari Grad town, where the streets open onto the plain — walk east from the harbor along the main road (D116) for about 600m until the stone walls begin flanking both sides of the road and the flat agricultural plain opens ahead of you.

   What: In 385 BC, colonists from the Greek island of Paros — dispatched by Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, as part of his plan to control Adriatic grain routes — arrived on this plain and did something extraordinary. They divided it into 75 perfectly equal rectangular parcels, each measuring 180m × 900m, using standard Greek surveying units called stadia. Then they built drystone walls along every boundary. No mortar. Just fitted limestone. Those walls are still here. Not restored. Not rebuilt. Maintained by every farmer who lived inside them for 2,400 unbroken years. UNESCO said in 2008 it was one of the best-preserved ancient Greek land divisions on earth. When the Romans arrived in 168 BC, they looked at the Greek field system and kept it exactly as it was. The Romans literally wrote the Greek boundaries into their own cadastral records and added subdivisions without moving a single wall. What you're walking into is a legal document from 385 BC that is still being enforced today — in the form of olive trees and grape vines growing in the exact same plots the Parians assigned.

   How: Walk or drive east from Stari Grad harbor toward Vrboska. Within the first kilometer, stop at any point where stone walls run parallel on both sides of a lane, stretch away from you in straight lines, and meet perpendicular walls at right angles in the distance. You are standing inside a 1×5-stadia parcel — the exact shape a Greek colonist drew in 385 BC. There is no entry fee. No ticket. This is a working agricultural landscape.

   Backup: If approaching by bike, any east-bound lane from the main D116 road takes you into the field system within minutes. The geometry is most legible from even a slight elevation — try standing on a wall corner or a stone trim.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Cycle the Ancient Grid and Hunt 90 Stone Shelters Adventure · Price: low

   The Greek farmers who built this plain also built ~90 small dry-stone shelters called trims — tool sheds and rain shelters, possibly original 4th-century BC construction. Find one. Touch it.

   Where: Start at the Stari Grad harbor. Rent a bike from Hvar Life (near the ferry terminal, look for their signage — MTB €20/day, e-bike €40/day, half-day MTB €17). Then ride east on the D116 road, turning off on any stone-walled lane heading into the plain.

   What: Scattered across the plain are roughly 90 ancient stone shelters called trims. Same dry-stone technique as the field walls — no mortar, no nails. The Greeks built them so farmers could store tools and take shelter from rain or afternoon heat during harvest. Some of these structures may be original 4th-century BC construction — the same age as the walls themselves. Archaeologists cannot always date them precisely because the building technique has never changed. Watch also for the Maslinovik watchtower hill: a 67.5m mound in the northern part of the plain, near the small airstrip. Walk up it — the view from the top is the only way to see the rectangular grid geometry clearly, the same view the Greek soldiers posted there in 384 BC when 10,000 Illyrian warriors in 300 ships came across the water to destroy the new colony. The Greeks and their Syracusan allies won that battle at sea. The walls survived.

   How: From Stari Grad harbor, ride east. After 1-2km, turn north (left) onto any macadam lane between stone walls. The recommended loop: ride east toward Vrboska for 3km, then north toward the airstrip, find Maslinovik hill on your left (the mound near the runway), climb it on foot (10 minutes), scan the geometry from above, then loop back via the northern boundary wall to Stari Grad. Total distance: 10-12km. The plain is nearly flat — manageable for all fitness levels. Trims appear at wall intersections and in corners of field boundaries; look for structures that seem to grow out of the walls organically.

   Backup: If bikes are unavailable, the plain is walkable. The first 2km of any east-bound road from Stari Grad gets you deep into the chora. Walking the southern boundary wall from town to the plain center takes about 40 minutes.

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3. 3 Taste the Wine the Greeks Brought From Paros in 385 BC Wine · Free

   HoraHvar (Agroturizam Pharos) is a working organic farm in the middle of the plain. The Žuvela family pours four wines for free — including Bogdanuša, a white grape that grows nowhere on earth except this island.

   Where: HoraHvar (Agroturizam Pharos), center of the Stari Grad Plain. From the main D116 road, follow signs into the plain for the farm — it sits at approximately the midpoint of the 6km plain, surrounded by olive trees, lavender, and vineyards with views down to Stari Grad harbor. Contact ahead: +385 91 531 8781 or horahvar@gmail.com.

   What: The Žuvela family farm occupies 32,000m² of UNESCO-protected plain — its boundary walls are the same stone-on-stone drywall the Greeks laid in 385 BC. They pour four wines for free: Bogdanuša, Pošip, Rosé, and Barrique Plavac Mali. The one to understand is the Bogdanuša. This white grape exists nowhere on earth except Hvar island, and it can only make quality wine in the deep fertile soils of this specific plain. DNA scientists have tried to trace it back to Greece — the results are inconclusive, which makes it more interesting, not less. The working theory is that Parian colonists carried vine cuttings from Paros in 385 BC and planted them in these exact plots. Successive Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Venetian farmers kept them going. The name means 'given by God' in Croatian, because it was drunk at religious festivals. You're drinking a wine that may be genetically continuous with the vines planted in this field 2,400 years ago. If you want to eat, call one day ahead — the family prepares ispod peke (slow-cooked lamb or octopus under a bell in hot ash), which takes hours and cannot be rushed.

   How: Wine tasting is free — just arrive and introduce yourself. The family speaks enough English for tasting conversation. If you arrive by bike from Step 2, the farm is approximately 4km east of Stari Grad town. Ask the family which of their plots they believe are most ancient — the Žuvelas know their land's history.

   Backup: If HoraHvar is closed or unavailable, ride back to Stari Grad and go to Konoba Pharia in the old town. Ask for a glass of local Bogdanuša — they stock from nearby producers and can tell you which plots it came from.

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4. 4 Find the Greek Wall That Still Holds Up a Croatian House History · Price: low · Optional

   In the Remete Garden on the eastern edge of Stari Grad's old town, 12 meters of Pharos city wall from the 4th century BC still stand — one section two meters high, incorporated into a cellar wall of a house that has used it as a foundation for centuries.

   Where: Two stops, both walkable in Stari Grad old town. First: the Stari Grad Museum, Ulica braće Biankini 4 (the Biankini Palace, next to Tvrdalj castle on the seafront). Second: Remete Garden, eastern edge of the old town — ask locals for 'Remete vrt' or 'stari zid' (old wall).

   What: The museum holds the full story with physical evidence — finds from the Greek colony of Pharos (4th-2nd century BC) including pottery, coins, and surveying instruments, plus material from Roman Pharia and the famous Abdevnor collection from a Roman trading ship wrecked on the north shore of Hvar in the 4th/5th century AD (blown there by the bora while sailing from North Africa to Pharia). Admission is €4. But the more visceral moment is the Remete Garden. Here, archaeologists found the original town wall of Pharos, laid in the 4th century BC. Twelve meters of it still stand at ground level. And in the cellar of an adjacent house, the south wall of Pharos — over two meters high — was incorporated directly into the building's structure. A Croatian family's house has been using a 2,400-year-old Greek city wall as its cellar wall. You can also see the original street drainage canals of the Greek city, and the foundations of two housing blocks from the original colony.

   How: Museum is open May-June and September: daily except Sunday, 10:00-13:00. July-August: daily 10:00-13:00 and 19:00-21:00 (Sundays evenings only). October-April: by appointment. Entry €4. After the museum, ask staff to direct you to Remete Garden — it's a short walk east through the old town lanes. There's no ticket required for the garden/wall exterior.

   Backup: If the museum is closed, the Tvrdalj fortress (Renaissance poet Petar Hektorović's fortified home, adjacent to the museum) is open May-October and worth seeing — it connects the Greek plain to the later layers of Hvar history. The fishpond inside, fed by seawater, has held mullet for 500 years.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• Bike through the plain for the best experience

• The stone walls are 2,400 years old

• Visit Stari Grad Museum for context

• Still cultivated with olives, figs, and grapes