Aug 5, 2008, 10:25 GMT
Hum, Croatia - The whole place seems to be made of grey, rectangular stone, there is not a soul in sight and dried leaves scurry along the road as the wind blows past the only shop for miles around.
Visitors who pass by the permanently open wooden gateway and enter the town of Hum in Croatia may not immediately feel at home among the old houses. Yet this tiny place is one of the most notable tourist attractions in northern Istria on the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. For Hum is officially the world's smallest town and has earned itself a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The population is given as just 18 souls aged between 23 and 75 years. Now after a gap of many years, Hum can look forward to the birth of a baby. The locals are delighted as it promises to literally inject a little new life into their surroundings.
'There is not much going on here in winter and spring and sometimes it is a little too quiet,' says Ordina Medlag. She arrived in Hum with her husband 32 years ago, bought a house and opened the town's only hostelry, the Humska Konoba, a small pub with a big view of the surrounding countryside. There are truffle dishes on the menu and a celebrated mistletoe schnapps whose recipe is a closely-guarded secret known only to the local pastor.
Ordina Medlag has never regretted coming to this little fortified town perched on a hilltop amid a wild picturesque landscape. Like her neighbours though, she cannot resist a little moan about the hustle and bustle which envelopes Hum in the summer.
'You know when more than 500 people a day squeeze through the streets it can be a bit much,' she says, running a hand through her grey hair.
Hum nevertheless needs the cash from visitors since there is no work of any kind up here and the facilities are spartan. Next to the Villa Sybilla is a modest museum and a shop where tourists can buy sprigs of mistletoe, pottery, schnapps, pockets of lavender and postcards.
Around 14 kilometres away lies the administrative centre of Buzet to which Hum belongs.
Locals come here in order to work in restaurants or on the olive plantations - there is not much other employment to be had. Not that the people of Hum would have it any other way: 'Most of the people who live here were born in the place or have at least lived here for many years. They are not planning on leaving,' said mayor Serdro Cinko.
'Such a small town generates a strong feeling of community - everyone helps everyone else.'
Cinko's tasks include acting as an ombudsman between feuding citizens and he also has the authority to impose fines for misdeeds. They tend to be pretty rare in this town of just three rows of houses, a small square and a church with a bell tower. Until this day, no new buildings have been erected outside the medieval town wall.
All in all, it's a fine place to enjoy the silence and sip a glass of mistletoe schnapps - at least out of season when the coaches stay away.
GETTING THERE: Hum lies around 100 kilometres north of Pula and some 40 kilometres east of Novigrad. It is served by a number of airlines from Germany, including Croatia Airlines and Germanwings.
It is sometimes necessary to change planes in Zagreb. There are trains to Hum from Pula.
WHERE TO STAY: The best selection of accommodation is in Buzet around 14 kilometres away. In Hum, Nela Grabar rents out two double rooms. The telephone number is 52 66 0004 prefaced by the country code for Croatia.
Your Talkback on this Story