PRIMOSTEN VINEYARDS (PROTECTED CULTURAL LANDSCAPE) (S/S)

Motif: Panorama of the Primošten vineyards, photo by Damir Fabijanić Recently and with good reason, an initiative has been put in motion - the activity to enter the vineyards of Primošten into the UNESCO heritage register in the category of protected cultural landscapes. In the completed project for this intention, made by Branka Hlevnjak, art historian, it was determined that it goes here about a rare monument of cultural, economic and aesthetic unity, or to quote the eminent art historian: “By their architecture of an unusual horizontal screen of dry stone walls, the Primošten vineyards bring a Renaissance spirit of labour and order into this ancient world and prehistoric landscape”. The lace-like atmosphere of the stone fences within which the red soil used to be stored in order to prevent the water and wind to carry it away, created a work of art in landscaping with a strong symbolic note of sustainable development. It goes here for a grandiose work of human labour, supported by the calculations made by professor Vinko Tadijević. As a matter of fact, he has made a calculation to find out how much time would have been necessary if 50 hectares of dry stone wall area were built by a single local builder, working on the 7 hours a day schedule. It would take twelve centuries to complete it. It goes for thousands of kilometres of dry stone walls which presupposed millions of cubic meters of cleared, carved, processed and built-in stone which makes these vineyards an ode to human labour. These are the reasons that a big photo of these vineyards is hanging in the United Nations building, put up there at the time of Perez de Cuellar as a world example of the symbol of labour and sustainable development. The other reference of the world-renowned value of the Primošten vineyards comes from the big international exhibition organized at the turn of the century “Japan, Flora 2000”. Croatia appeared at this exhibition together with 65 other countries from all over the world in the category of national gardens. The symbolic contents of the Croatian appearance encompassed “The rock gardens of Velebit and the Primošten vineyards”. This Croatian garden won the gold medal, and together with China Croatia was the only foreign country to have won the highest award, “Excellent Prize”. Only three Japanese gardens received this highest award. The quoted references have also been complemented by the decision of the Parliamentary Committee on Regional Planning and Environmental Protection from May 23, 2002, which gives full support to the activities regarding the proposal to enter the Primošten vineyards into the UNESCO natural and cultural heritage register. The long history of the vineyard is the one of the unity of the grape vine and the Primošten landscape. This history has been continuing since the Illyrian times, through the times of Greek and Roman influence all up to the times of the great movements of the peoples and the arrival of Croats in these regions, thus lasting up to the present times, the times of the origin of the famous wine named “Babić”. The system of dry stone walls was probably created at the times of Venetian-Turkish wars, when the cultivation of grape vine moved to steeper areas for the sake of safety. In such areas dry stone walls present inevitability. This means that there has been created a unique image of beauty of the landscape harmonized with ecology and sustainable development. By issuing the postage stamp with the motif of the Primošten vineyards, the Croatian Post has joined the constantly growing activity regarding the idea of entering these vineyards, unique in the world, into the UNESCO heritage register.