The island of Ugljan, as all big islands in the Adriatic, has been populated continuously since Paleolithic, the early part of the Stone Age. From that period, they found eight stone knives and one ax, which archeologist Frane Bulić distributed among Archeological museums in Croatia

From the Roman period they found a brick floor "villa rustica", unused stone mosaic and a stone urn. Carlo Federico Bianchi, in his "Zara Cristiana", writes that there were various salt works in Kukljica built in the old Roman period.

The first known written mention of the name Kukljica was made in monuments from 1106, published by Tadija Smičiklas in "Codex diplomaticus", and in which there is a mention of a donation of olive-groves to the monastery of Sv. Krševan in Zadar.

Important buildings, although unfortunately damaged, are the castle (summer residence) of family Nassi from 1623 and the ruins of an unknown building in the palace of Ortulan.

The architecture of stone houses, in typical autochthonous Dalmatian style, is most noticeable in Kukljica. Houses are built in continuation of each other and forming a small square of an almost rectangular form. That square and the group of houses are known as the palace. Best-preserved palaces are: Bačin dvor, Benin dvor, Jojin dvor, Lisičin dvor, Lonin dvor and Martinov dvor.

The old Croatian church of Sv. Jerolim, in its present Romanesque form dating from 13 th century is located in the southeastern part of cove Kostanj. The parochial Baroque church of Sv. Pavao was built on the foundations of an older church. Important writings in Glagolitic script serve as a testimony: the inscription on the portal testifies of the beginning of construction in 1666 and the inscription in the church of its sanctification in 1674. The bell tower from 18 th century is 25 meters high. There are five great altars in the church. The votive Baroque church of Sv. Gospa Snježna from 17 th century situated in cove Zdrelašćica resembles the church of Sv. Pavao, which was built in the same period.

It was built on the foundations of an older sanctuary. The church is inscribed as a cultural estate in the Register of immovable cultural monuments of Regional Cultural Monuments Authority in Split. A Renaissance, wooden altar board with relieves was moved to the Museum of Sacral Arts in Zadar and a replica was placed at the altar instead. The festivity of Sv. Gospa Snježna is celebrated every 5 th of August since 1514 with a grandiose procession at sea and the statue of Our Lady on the ship and with a regatta of several hundred of different ships.