St. Mary's Church, Vrboska, Croatia

One of the most significant monuments of the island of Hvar is definitely the fortified church in Vrborska, erected in 1571, after the Turkish attack on the location of an older church that originated in 1465.

The church has the shape of a fort with an observation post and a loop-hole and from its top there is a beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding places and fields. The church preserves valuable works of Stefan Celesti, Antonio Sciuri, Giuseppe Alabardi, Marko Rašica and Celestin Medović.

References:

Visit Hvar

Religious sites in Croatia

User Reviews

Pedja Ivkovic (2 years ago)
Maybe most famous landmar, and certainly most famous monument in Vrboska. Church is not open always, and when it is its open from somewhere around 10am-12am and from 19:30-21:00pm Thicket are 15kn (~2e) There are some interesting graffiti in the tower next to the stairs from many years ago (some from the beginig of 20 cenury)

Irena Knez (2 years ago)
Tradition in the small town on the beautiful island

Konrad Röpke (4 years ago)
Great view on the harbor and the inner city. Impressive architecture that shows the transformation of a church into a fortress.

andrej miladinovic (4 years ago)
Interesting building with a great view from the roof

Nenad Medak (4 years ago)
Interesting building!

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Honza Soukup

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Angelokastro

Angelokastro is a Byzantine castle on the island of Corfu. It is located at the top of the highest peak of the island"s shoreline in the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa and built on particularly precipitous and rocky terrain. It stands 305 m on a steep cliff above the sea and surveys the City of Corfu and the mountains of mainland Greece to the southeast and a wide area of Corfu toward the northeast and northwest.

Angelokastro is one of the most important fortified complexes of Corfu. It was an acropolis which surveyed the region all the way to the southern Adriatic and presented a formidable strategic vantage point to the occupant of the castle.

Angelokastro formed a defensive triangle with the castles of Gardiki and Kassiopi, which covered Corfu"s defences to the south, northwest and northeast.

The castle never fell, despite frequent sieges and attempts at conquering it through the centuries, and played a decisive role in defending the island against pirate incursions and during three sieges of Corfu by the Ottomans, significantly contributing to their defeat.

During invasions it helped shelter the local peasant population. The villagers also fought against the invaders playing an active role in the defence of the castle.

The exact period of the building of the castle is not known, but it has often been attributed to the reigns of Michael I Komnenos and his son Michael II Komnenos. The first documentary evidence for the fortress dates to 1272, when Giordano di San Felice took possession of it for Charles of Anjou, who had seized Corfu from Manfred, King of Sicily in 1267.

From 1387 to the end of the 16th century, Angelokastro was the official capital of Corfu and the seat of the Provveditore Generale del Levante, governor of the Ionian islands and commander of the Venetian fleet, which was stationed in Corfu.

The governor of the castle (the castellan) was normally appointed by the City council of Corfu and was chosen amongst the noblemen of the island.

Angelokastro is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands.

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