Legend of the highest peak - Sv. Jure
Updated: May 28, 2020
There is a legend (attributed to Giacomo di Varazzeu) about a dragon that lived in the lake near the town of Silene, Lybia. People daily fed it with sheep, lambs, calves or any other animal. One of the dragon's favorite cruise was across the Adriatic sea, from Libya to Biokovo mountain. However, the dragon became greedy, so it started to ask for sacrifice of young boys and girls. The least fortunate ones would become dragon's food. On one occasion it asked for a princess, and as she walked to her death, she met St George (Sveti Jure in Croatian). He promised to save her life if the king promised to abandon the pagan gods and turn to Christianity. The king agreed. When the dragon came out of the lake, St. George stabbed its neck. Then he bound silk rope around the dragon and led the dragon to the king's palace, where the king once again confirmed he accepted Christianity.
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Biokovo is the largest, longest, most beautiful and most cruel mountain in Dalmatia. It extends to 196 square kilometers, the highest peak is St George. With its 1762 meters of height, it is second highest mountain in Croatia. At the peak is a church dedicated to St. George, after which the top was named. The oldest hiking trail to climb to the top of St George: on the south side leads from the village Makar (229 m), over mountain lodge Vošac (1422 m) and to the mountain hut by the peak Sv. Jure (1762 m).
The myth of dragons living in the area is so strong, that even HBO decided to film parts of Game of Thrones Daenerys' scenes in this area. You can read more about it here.
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