The charming and tiny Croatian medieval town of Hum: just 21 people live

um it is a small medieval village lost in the heart of Istria, the beautiful Croatian peninsula washed by the Adriatic. It is fascinating and has a rich history.

Hum fits very little into the idea we have of a city: that is, many people, buildings, avenues and so on. The only match Hum has with that description is his own centuries-old buildings and their almost millennial past.

And it is that the city is nothing more than a spot on the horizon, in a landscape dominated by cereal fields; we are first the smallest city in the world.

With 21 cores, its size is tiny – it measures approximately 100 meters long and just under 40 meters wide. Faced with such a reality, a big question comes to mind: how is it possible to call such a small place a city?

A history of centuries

The legend evokes its origins to the intervention of the giants, but the reality – stubborn as always – takes us back to the Middle Ages, when Hum was Cholm, and defensive needs forced the construction of a citadel on the remains of an ancient fortress. The year was 1102. For centuries life took place within the walls.

Originally organized architecturally in three parallel rows of houses, with two separate streets and a square, its structure it allowed the military defense and refuge of its inhabitants in the castle in their constant attacks.

Despite the assaults, looting and even fires, which repeatedly made it necessary to rebuild the fortress, the historic structure is in a good state of conservation.

The last of the restorations dates back to the beginning of the 19th century and its current appearance was completed with the construction of the church, a work which forced the south wall of the city to be moved slightly so that the bell tower remained within the walls.

Glagolitic culture

Hum is certainly a small town, however, its cultural heritage is immense.

Among its treasures are numerous documents written in Glagolitican old Slavic alphabet dating back to the 9th century and used on the Istrian peninsula until the 19th century.

Source: La Vanguardia and Clarin