Cres (German obsolete: Kersch) comes from the late antique "Crepsa". Before the island was settled by Croats, Cres belonged to the Liburnians, but there are also Greek, Roman and Byzantine traces.
From the 9th century to 1409 the whole island was under Croatian rule. The Cres Statute dates back to 1332.
Until 1797 Cres belonged to the Republic of Venice. Part of the French-occupied Illyrian provinces from 1805 to 1814, it then belonged to Austria-Hungary until 1918. During World War I it was conquered by Italy before falling into the hands of the German army in 1943. At the end of the Second World War, Cres finally fell back to Croatia and was integrated into the state of Yugoslavia.
Today's municipality of Cres covers all settlements of the northern and central part of the island, while settlements of the southern part belong to the town of Mali Lošinj. According to the census of 2011, the municipality has 2879 inhabitants.