 PASMAN,
an island in the Zadar archipelago southeast of the island of Ugljan,
separated from it by a narrow strait called Zdrelac; area 56.9 sq
km (length 21.1 km, width up to 4.1 km); population 3,349; highest
peak Bokolj (272 m). In the west the island is composed of Cretaceous
limestone, in the east of dolomites, with a small zone of fertile
sandy deposits. The limestone zone is partly covered with underbrush,
while the dolomite and sandy zones are under vineyards and vegetable
gardens. The steep western coast is indented with numerous coves,
well protected from the bora (especially in the south-eastern part).
Larger coves include Polaca, Taline, Triluke, Landin, Soline and Kablin.
All places on the island are situated along the less indented eastern
coast: Tkon, Kraj, Pasman, Mrljane, Nevidane, Dobropoljana, Banj and
Zdrelac. Chief occupations are farming, growing of vines, olives,
fruit and vegetables, livestock breeding, fishing and tourism. The
regional road runs along the entire island. Ferry lines with Biograd
na Moru.
The island has been populated since the prehistoric times (Illyrian
hill-fort, Roman finds - Pasman, Banj). Along the cove of Sveti
Ante (St. Anthony) on the south-western coast is a small, pre-Romanesque
one-nave church. From 1050 the island was owned by the Biograd diocese
and from 1126 by the Zadar archdiocese. It was populated by the
refugees who fled from the Turks.
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