The little fishing village of Valun lies at the south coast of the Valun Bay. The houses are arranged in terraced rows rising from the coast and up the nearby hill.
However, the Valun we know today is relatively “new” in comparison with Beli, Cres, and Lubenice. The village itself started to develop in the late 17th century. Valun originated from a village named Bućev. Today the only remaining trace of that village is Saint Mark’s church, which was the parish church at the time. The inhabitants of Valun still bury their dead in the graveyard next to the church. Their ancestors lived here long before Valun came into existence. Bućev was positioned on that location for a couple of reasons: the hill had a good view of the bay, it was surrounded by fertile land (much more than on the coast), and there was a water pond nearby – the old Bućev pond, whose water was used for the cattle and for the fields. The foundation of Saint Mark’s church dates back to the 11th century, based on which Bućev is dated to that period as well. This is also where the Valun tablet was discovered. The tablet is one of the oldest Croatian written records. It was written in the Glagolitic alphabet and, together with the Bašćanska ploča (another Glagolitic inscription from the same period, found on Krk), represents an invaluable element of Croatian cultural heritage.
Once you have taken the winding road downhill and reached the coast, you will be mesmerized by the charming beauty of the village. The place blends with the bay so naturally that it seems to simply belong here, completing the surrounding nature rather than disturbing it. Next to the village there are a couple of lovely shingle beaches and a small campsite. The port is dominated by a big house, the biggest one in the village and therefore nicknamed the “Palac” (the Palace) by the locals. A few steps away, at the centre of the village, you will reach the parish church dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, built in 1851. The original Valun tablet is built into the inner wall of its sacristy. Next to the church you can see the old “toš”, olive press, which was turned into a restaurant also named Toš. The old millstones still stand at the centre of the main room of the restaurant. The restaurant’s terrace is surrounded by the so-called Glagolitic Lapidarium: reconstructions of the oldest Glagolitic monuments of the area are built into the walls around the terrace, testifying to the cultural and historical heritage of Croatia.
Valun is famous for its food, especially fish.