February the 4th, 2026 – Tisno is a Dalmatian settlement that can be found on both the mainland and on an island. It’s connected by a unique bridge and is home to a giant octopus…

As Putni kofer/Lana Mindoljevic writes, throughout the long and often tumultuous history of the Adriatic coast, the islands have had their own specific rhythm. They’re all a bit different in comparison to the mainland, they’re ruled by weather conditions and tides and are very deeply connected to the sea. One place is located right at the junction of land and sea and seems to enjoy the best of both worlds. Exactly at the point where the mainland is closest to a Croatian island, Tisno has proudly stood for centuries. It’s the old gateway to the island of Murter, and one of the most charming places in this part of the Adriatic.

At first glance, Tisno is a typical little Dalmatian town. The ancient houses are made of stone, the streets are narrow, and old buildings alternate with newer ones cropping up between them. The older part of the settlement is located on the island side, while the new part, on the mainland, is more airy, open, with long promenades along the seaside that begin as soon as you move a few steps away from the waterfront and the centre.

a touch of italy

A stroll through the old core of Tisno will bring you to the church of Sv. Duh, one of the most important sacral buildings in the town. You’ll also come across numerous smaller chapels and stone details that testify to the long history of the settlement. The historic core of the town is located on the island side, below Brošćica hill, and is full of typical rural buildings made of stone. The Tisno Tourist Board website states that several old houses from the early 18th century have even been preserved in this area, which were mostly built by Italian families from Bergamo near Milan.

The wealthy families who moved to Tisno from Italy in the 18th century greatly shaped the appearance of the town. Several palaces have been preserved from that time that you can visit, such as the houses of the Gelpi and Banchetti families from the 18th century, and the Kaleb family house, Villa Mazzura and the Katunarić Palace from the 19th century. The latter is now home to the Tisno Municipality administration.

the home of a giant octopus

Dusko Jaramaz/PIXSELL

On the pier on the mainland side of the bridge, you will see a newer attraction that also has an interesting story behind it. It is a large sculpture of an octopus, which seems to be trying to climb up and reach the shore. Next to it stands a small crab opposing it and trying to chase it back into the sea. The message of the monument is that David can defeat Goliath. Another local story associated with this monument is the custom of walking along the Tisno waterfront in the evening with a torch and spears in search of octopuses and other cephalopods.

This bronze sculpture was installed back in 2023 to mark the 100th anniversary of tourism in Tisno. In 1923, the Borovik Hotel welcomed its first guests to Tisno from Prague.

One of the most recognisable symbols of Tisno is the 38-metre-long Tisno Bridge, which symbolically connects two ways of life: island life and life on the mainland. Tisno is actually a Dalmatian settlement that exists both on the mainland and on an island. The first bridge in Tisno was built back during the early 18th century, before being replaced by a drawbridge that has been renovated several times to this day. Today, this bridge is the only connection between the island of Murter and the mainland.

a tug-of-war between venice and the ottoman empire

Once upon a time, when an old wooden bridge stood here, it opened by moving sideways and manually. Back at that time, there were no cars, with only people, donkeys and carts crossing it. Today, this canal is spanned by a bridge built much more recently in 1989, designed to rise and fall vertically using hydraulics.

The Tisno Bridge is raised twice a day to allow boats to pass, and during the summer season traffic stops at 9:00 and 6:00, with a twenty minute wait implied for the boats to pass. There are often queues at that time, but after the bridge opens, traffic returns to normal. Outside of the season, more specifically from September to May, the bridge is raised once a day, only in the morning. The life, work and leisure of tourists on the island are largely shaped by the schedule of the bridge raising, but most agree that it is still a minor inconvenience compared to waiting and having to board a ferry.

The specific location of the town of Tisno at the narrowest part of the Murter Channel has greatly influenced its development throughout history, and not only because this Dalmatian settlement exists on both the mainland and on an island. In fact, it could be said that it was precisely because of this location that the town was built. Way back during the second half of the 15th century, the Venetian administration wanted to somehow prevent the penetration of the marauding Ottoman forces onto the island of Murter. Therefore, in 1475, it built a defensive fortress and walls at the point where the island is closest to the mainland. This triggered some of the population to move from the mainland to the island in search of refuge, and that’s precisely how the community began to form, which eventually grew into the Tisno we know today.

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