Rab (town)

Rab
—  Town  —
Historic town center of Rab
Coat of arms
Rab Location of Rab within Croatia
Coordinates: 44°45′N 14°45′E
Country	Croatia
County	Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
Island	Rab
Government
• Mayor	Željko Barčić (HDZ)
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	554
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	51 280
Area code(s)	051
Website	rab.hr

Rab (Italian: Arbe Latin: Arba) is the main settlement on the island of Rab in Croatia. It is located on a small peninsula on the southwestern side of the island, and had 554 residents as of 2001.

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".

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 belltowers 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.

Attribution

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