Church of the Assumption of Mary (Saints Fabian and Sebastian), Jelsa

In the centre of Jelsa on the island of Hvar stands the fortified church of the Assumption of Mary, once dedicated to Saints Fabian and Sebastian. Visitors see here a church that also had a defensive role in the time of Turkish attacks.

At first it was the church of St Mary, which was fortified in 1535. It has three aisles, with massive columns carrying arches and vaults. Above the walls of the north and south façades a defensive wall with battlements and a walkway was built, and over the sanctuary a tower with a four-sided roof. At the northeast corner is a smaller bastion housing the sacristy. From 1879 to 1887 the church was lengthened to the west and acquired a classicist façade, and the Toretta tower in the southwest was demolished and in 1887 a bell tower was built in its place. Around the church the defensive wall from 1573 has remained.

The church is a protected cultural good, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-5600. It is located in Split-Dalmatia County.

Photo: Argo Navis, 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).