Jesenice, Omiš

Jesenice is a long, narrow Dalmatian settlement between Split and Omiš, administered by the municipality of Dugi Rat and encompassing the coastal communities of Krilo, Bajnice, Orij and Suhi Potok. Its character is clearest in the contrast between old stone hamlets beneath Mount Mošnjica and harbour settlements strung along the Adriatic Highway. After the Split–Omiš road opened in 1856 and steamship calls began, local families increasingly turned to seafaring, trade and the transport of wine to Rijeka and Trieste. Krilo Jesenice is now instantly recognisable by its dense forest of masts and fleet of excursion vessels, while the historic settlement occupies the slopes above the sea. There is no single dominant town beach: swimming places sit in small coves, with municipal documents naming Krilo’s large beach, Močila at Suhi Potok and several beaches in Bajnice. Above the coast, seek out the 19th-century Church of St Roch, built where an earlier church was recorded in 1625, and the Church of the Immaculate Conception with its distinctive public clock.

Jesenice is not a compact seaside town but a settlement formed by Bajnice, Krilo, Orij and Suhi Potok, together with older hillside hamlets. Krilo is defined by its harbour basin and excursion vessels, whereas the stone houses of old Jesenice stand away from the coastal traffic beneath Mount Mošnjica. Maritime development accelerated after the Split–Omiš road opened in 1856 and steamships began using local landing places, encouraging families to trade and carry wine towards the northern Adriatic. Surviving architecture from that period includes Hotel Primorje and the Naranča and Ivanišević family houses, identified by the local tourist board as harmonious neo-style buildings around the former port.