Betina

Thanks to its location and well- kept architecture, Betina is considered to be one of the most beautiful places in the Adriatic.

The central historical part of Betina was built on the eastern slopes of Cape Artić, located on the northern  gate to the Murter passage. In the course of time, the town grew bigger until it reached the bay of Zdrače, where Betina and Murter joined. Nowadays there is no visible border between these two towns and the only thing separating one place from the other is – the name plate.

The town is overlooked by a bell tower of the parish church of St. Francis of Assisi, built in 1736., work of Ivan Skok, a master-builder from Šibenik. There is a whole web of small streets leading from the church to the old town core.

According to the legend, the name of the town Betina comes from an ancient Celtic word “bet” – which means “the mouth” – and it vividly describes the Betina port. In other words, approaching Betina from the sea, you can see that the peninsula, on which the old Betina lies, forms a natural port resembling the mouth. It protects fishing boats from the raging sea and the storm, which can be very strong in this area.

Betina is by far famous for its caulkers – ship-builders, who make ships out of wood. The first ship-yard was built here in 1848 and it was a very modern one for that time. Nowadays, when caulking in the Adriatic is slowly dying out and giving way to plastic boats, with its old caulkers and a few small family ship-yards, Betina became the centre of caulking.