Fortified Church of St Mary, Vrboska

In Vrboska on the island of Hvar, in the municipality of Jelsa, stands the fortified Church of St Mary, a building that was at once a sanctuary and a defensive refuge. It is of interest to visitors who like to see how churches on the Dalmatian islands were adapted to the needs of defence.

According to the description, it was built in the mid-16th century and is oriented in an east–west direction. In plan it kept the shape of a single-nave building with a semicircular end, but the walls are considerably thicker and raised to the former height of the roof ridge. The building is crowned by a spacious terrace, above which a crenellation rises. Along the northern edge of the main façade a spurred bastion was built.

The fortified Church of St Mary is a protected cultural property and is entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-4787. It is located in Split-Dalmatia County and belongs to the sacral and secular architectural heritage.

Photo: Gampe, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: Wikidata (CC0).