Church of St John the Baptist, Kaštel Lukšić

On Birnje, a prominent peak of the Kozjak mountain above Kaštel Lukšić, stands the church of St John the Baptist. It was built on the site of a prehistoric hillfort, one of the largest in Kaštela, so the climb to it is worthwhile for the extensive views. It belongs to the town of Kaštela in Split-Dalmatia County.

Sources mention it from the 13th century, but it is not known exactly when it was built. It is a single-nave church with a longitudinal plan and a semicircular apse at the back. The apse is a remnant of an older church and is built of roughly worked stone, while the nave was built in 1888. Because of its exposed position the church often suffered damage. From the renovation in the 15th century a Latin inscription has been preserved inside, and next to it a coat of arms with a shield bearing two gourds.

The church is a protected cultural good, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-3572.

Photo: Zoran Alajbeg, CC BY-SA 3.0 hr, 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).