Religious sites in Croatia

Dubrovnik Synagogue

The Old Synagogue in Dubrovnik is the oldest Sefardic synagogue still in use today in the world and the second oldest synagogue in Europe. It is said to have been established in 1352, but gained legal status in the city in 1408. Owned by the local Jewish community, the main floor still functions as a place of worship for Holy days and special occasions, but is now mainly a city museum which hosts numerous Jewish ritu ...
Founded: 1352-1408 | Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

St. Blaise's Church

The Church of St. Blaise is a Baroque church in Dubrovnik and one of the city"s major sights. Saint Blaise (St. Vlaho), identified by medieval Slavs with the pagan god Veles, is the patron saint of the city of Dubrovnik and formerly the protector of the independent Republic of Ragusa. The church was built in 1715 by the Venetian architect and sculptor Marino Gropelli (1662-1728) on the foundations of the ...
Founded: 1715 | Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Cathedral of Saint Domnius

The Cathedral of Saint Domnius in Split is formed from an Imperial Roman mausoleum, with a bell tower; strictly the church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and the bell tower to Saint Domnius. Together they form the Cathedral of St. Domnius. The cathedral was consecrated at the turn of the 7th century AD, is regarded as the oldest Catholic cathedral in the world that remains in use in its original structure, without near- ...
Founded: 7th century AD | Location: Split, Croatia

Dubrovnik Cathedral

Dubrovnik cathedral was built on the site of several former cathedrals, including 7th, 10th and 11th century buildings, and their 12th century successor in the Romanesque style. The money to build the basilica was partially contributed by the English king Richard the Lion Heart, as a votive for having survived a shipwreck near the island of Lokrum in 1192 on his return from the Third Crusade. This building was larg ...
Founded: 1673-1713 | Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Franciscan Monastery

The large complex of the Franciscan monastery is situated at the very beginning of Placa, to the left of the inner Pile Gate, next to the Holy Savior Church. The Franciscan order arrived in Dubrovnik around 1234. The first Franciscan monastery was built in the 13th century in the Pile area on the spot what is today Hotel Hilton Imperial. However as the City was threatened with war, in 1317, decision was made to demolis ...
Founded: 1317 | Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dominican Monastery

Dominican monastery is located at the eastern part of The City, close to the inner Ploce gate where it merges with the City walls. Dominican monastery is one of the most important architectural parts of Dubrovnik and major treasury of cultural and art heritage in Dubrovnik as the museum of the monastery exhibits many paintings, artifacts, jewellery and other items from the rich history of Dubrovnik. The Dominicans establ ...
Founded: 14th century | Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

St. Martin's Church

St. Martin"s Church was built into a small space (an early guardhouse) within the ancient Golden Gate of Diocletian"s northern wall. One of the oldest churchs in the city, Today St. Martin"s Church is one of Split"s tourist attractions and known for its fine 11th centery chancel screen. It is currently in the care of the Dominican sisters, who have a monastery next door. The church itself is open to th ...
Founded: 9th century AD | Location: Split, Croatia

Trogir Cathedral

The Cathedral of St. Lawrence serves now as the most imposing monument in the city of Trogir. It is part of the historic core of Trogir, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The cathedral was built on the foundations of an Early Christian cathedral destroyed in the 12th century during the sack of the town by the Saracens in 1123. The building of the cathedral began in 1213 and finished during the 17th century. Like the ...
Founded: 1213 | Location: Trogir, Croatia

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia. The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th ...
Founded: 9th century AD | Location: Zadar, Croatia

Zadar Cathedral

The Cathedral of St. Anastasia is the largest church in all of Dalmatia. The church"s origins date back to a Christian basilica built in the 4th and 5th centuries, while much of the currently standing three-nave building was constructed in the Romanesque style during the 12th and 13th centuries. The site has been submitted to UNESCO"s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. History The first known bishop in Za ...
Founded: 12th century | Location: Zadar, Croatia

Zagreb Greek Catholic Co-cathedral

Greek Catholic Co-cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius is located in the Street of St. Cyril and Methodius on the Upper Town in Zagreb. Greek Catholic church and seminary (built in 1681) existed on the Upper Town before the 17th century. This Church was intended for the Greek Catholic believers, mostly people from Žumberak Mountains, Uskoks and clerics that lived in and around Zagreb. It is not possible to determine ...
Founded: 1886 | Location: Zagreb, Croatia

St. Mary's Church

Church of St. Mary is a benedictine monastery church founded in 1066 on the eastern side of the old Roman forum.  The benedictine monastery was founded beside an existing church in 1066 by the Zadar noblewoman Čika. The monastery subsequently received royal protection and grants by king Petar Krešimir IV. After becoming a nun later in life, Čika endowed the monastery with two hymnariums and a prayer book, along with ...
Founded: 1066 | Location: Zadar, Croatia

St. Catherine's Church

Before the St. Catherine"s was built, a 14th-century Dominican church occupied the area. When the Jesuits arrived in Zagreb in the early 17th century, they thought the original church too rundown and inadequate, and worked to build a new church. Construction began in 1620 and was completed in 1632. A monastery was built adjacent to the church, but now the spot is home to the Klovićevi dvori art gallery. St. Catheri ...
Founded: 1620-1632 | Location: Zagreb, Croatia

Korcula Cathedral

St. Mark’s Cathedral is probably the most important building in the Korcula Old Town. It is built in Gothic-Renaissance style, completed in the 15th century at the place of other church from 13th century. It was built by local masters and craftsman of stone masonry, very well known in renaissance and baroque Dubrovnik and Venice. Most famous among them was stone mason Marko Andijic who completed the cathedral’s ...
Founded: 15th century | Location: Korčula, Croatia

Church of St. Euphemia

The Church of St. Euphemia is a Baroque church located in the heart of the historic part of Rovinj, Croatia, dominating the town. This three-nave church was built in 1736 over the remains of older, early Christian structures. The dedication was originally to Saint George, later to Saints George and Euphemia; the present building is dedicated to Euphemia only. Its façade dates from 1883. The relics of Saint Euphemia  ...
Founded: 1736 | Location: Rovinj, Croatia

Sibenik Cathedral

The Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik is a triple-nave basilica with three apses and a dome. It is the most important architectural monument of the Renaissance in the entire country. Since 2000, the cathedral has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The building of the church was initiated in 1402, though plans on its construction had already begun in 1298, when Šibenik became a municipality. The actual work to tran ...
Founded: 1402 | Location: Šibenik, Croatia

St. Mark's Church

The Romanesque window found in its south facade is the best evidence that the St. Mark's Church must have been built as early as the 13th century as is also the semicircular ground-plan of St. Mary's chapel (later altered). In the second half of the 14th century, the church was radically reconstructed. It was then turned into a late Gothic church of the three-nave type. Massive round columns support heavy ribbed vaults ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Zagreb, Croatia

Zagreb Cathedral

The Zagreb Cathedral is the tallest building in Croatia. It is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and to kings Saint Stephen and Saint Ladislaus. The cathedral is typically Gothic, as is its sacristy, which is of great architectural value. Its prominent spires are considered to be landmarks as they are visible from most parts of the city. In 1093 when King Ladislaus (1040-1095) moved the bishop"s chair from Sisa ...
Founded: 11th century | Location: Zagreb, Croatia

St. Chrysogonus Church

The Church of St. Chrysogonus isnamed after Saint Chrysogonus, the patron saint of the Zadar. The Romanesque church was consecrated by Lampridius, Archbishop of Zadar, in 1175. Built at the site of a Roman emporium, it replaced the Church of Saint Anthony the Hermit and is the only remaining part of a large medieval Benedictine abbey. In 1387, Elizabeth of Bosnia, the murdered queen dowager of Hungary and Dalm ...
Founded: 1175 | Location: Zadar, Croatia

Euphrasian Basilica

The Euphrasian Basilica complex, including a sacristy, baptistery and the bell tower of the nearby archbishop's palace, is an excellent example of early Byzantine architecture in the Mediterranean region. The Basilica has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997. The earliest basilica was dedicated to Saint Maurus of Parentium and dates back to the second half of the 4th century. The floor mosaic fro ...
Founded: 553 AD | Location: Poreč, Croatia

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.