Rural Ensemble of Gornje Selo, Šolta

Gornje Selo is a rural cultural and historical ensemble in the interior of the island of Šolta, in Split-Dalmatia County. It lies on the southern edge of Gornje polje, and to the north is connected with the protected natural harbour of Stomorska. For visitors it is of interest as an example of a preserved island village of stone courtyards.

The settlement began to take shape in the Middle Ages, south of the late antique settlement, in a more favourable position. Its backbone is the street that climbs from the south towards the top of the hill, and along it are lined the residential complexes of individual clans, the dvori. A dvor is a courtyard enclosed by a wall, around which are arranged ground-floor farm buildings and a house with a stable on the ground floor, living quarters on the upper floor and an attic; the upper floor is entered by an outside staircase, the balatura. The houses are of roughly dressed stone in lime mortar, with a timber roof structure and a stone covering, which has often been replaced by pantiles. The windows are protected by shutters. The most valuable are the Gabrin, Jakovčević and Škrabanić dvori, and the parish Church of St John the Baptist was built on the northern edge of the village in the mid-19th century.

Gornje Selo is a protected cultural property, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-6016.

Photo: Joadl, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: DGU (centre of the settlement).