‘HUM’, A Croatian Treat

Re.Meh
Re.Meh
Published in
4 min readJul 24, 2018

Globetrotters call the Croatian town, ‘Hum’, as ‘The Trouvaille’. Hum is the smallest town of the world and it hasn’t been explored righteously. That’s a surprise for travelers. The town is 2 Street-Long with about 21 people living there (the reason for serenity and peace). Once you’re in Hum, the phrases, ‘Be right back’ or ‘Be back in a jiffy’ fit best, as it takes pedestrians only a few minutes to walk around the entire town.

Welcome to Hum — The smallest city of the world!
The old metal alloy door is the only entrance to Hum. It is a classic fort wall after all!

It is known as “The town of Truffles”, located in the center of Istria region, near Buzet. Hum is a treat, even though it consists of only 20–30 buildings; Architecture has been preserved since the medieval era with documents dating back to the 12th century under the name of Cholm. The legendary story of Hum could be compared to a medieval folk tale, as it consists of characterizable elements like giants and stone houses. In fact, it is joked that the town was built by giants using rocks left after building other towns, in the valley of the river Mirna.

The Election Day of Hum is 11th June. Commonly known as ‘Day of Hum’, is celebrated and elections for the town council happen on this day. Unlike modern world traditions, the ballot is a wooden stick, where votes are engraved and the stick is specifically known as — Rabos.

The Glagolitic alphabet letters are very interesting. They were invented in the 9th century by the first of the brothers; Saints Cyril and Methodius. They were translating the Bible from Latin alphabet. The Glagolitic alphabet has been in use in this town since the beginning of 20th century. The AlejaGlagoljaša (Glagolithic Avenue) is a series of 11 monuments dedicated to the Glagolitic script, placed along the 4-mile route between Roč und Hum.

Just one of many Glagolitic Script monument, travel there to see more!

The houses were built inside the fort walls, and later followed by a Watch Tower. A bell was constructed in the 16th century, and until today, not a single building has been constructed outside these walls. The stone made buildings are a natural beauty and the way these Hummers (I have been controlling so long to not crack it out but yeah) have preserved cultural heritage is wonderful. They’re totally flaunting it! The Central Square, a Post Office, two Temples, the Cemetery, a shop of hand-made souvenirs made by Istrian masters, local wines shops, and the town Museum are a part of Hum, like any normal town.

Streets of Hum: Is it only me or the street view actually resembles the scenes of a Disney movie with floral windows, and cobbled paths?

The sun sets to only let us know that this town has camouflaging bricks turning reddish by the night!
The Authentic Restaurant — Humska Konoba

The only restaurant of Hum — Humska Konoba is a perfect blend of traditional architecture and rich cultural interiors, and they serve mouth watering delicacies. Humska Biska, a home brewed brandy, is prepared using local herbs. A recipe dated before 2000 years (the magical potion exclusively from the city of giants… if we must say, according to folk tales). The vintage dish — smoked meat with sauerkraut and signature doughnuts for dessert are served at the Konoba. You can find hungry wanderers lined up outside to savor the medieval flavors!

The bottle of Humska Biska — A tonic for blood pressure and other diseases according to the local residents!

The church and the square of Hum

Another go-to place is St. Jenonim church (built in the 12th century), there are excellently preserved frescoes dated from the second half of the 12th century; Clock tower erected in 1552 and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, built in 1802.

Preserved Frescos. Medieval world was actually so modern!

This small town is a basket of happiness and wanderlust. You can experience melodies music sessions till midnight, go for truffle hunt and do a lot more… Haven’t you started planning your holiday already?

Re.Meh shall be happy to help you 😊

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Re.Meh
Re.Meh
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Founder of www.re-meh.com - We curate luxury travel, with a fusion of genres and lifestyle travel.