Benedictine Convent of St Catherine, Šibenik

The complex of the former Benedictine convent of St Catherine is in the historic part of Šibenik, in the Dolac district. It is interesting to a visitor as an example of how a medieval convent over centuries was joined together, extended and repurposed.

The block arose through a succession of buildings along the western town ramparts. The complex occupies a large area of irregular shape and extends in a north-south direction. On the medieval basis, in the 17th and 18th centuries several plots were merged into one larger building, which was also raised in height at that time. When the convent was abolished at the end of the 18th century, it received a military purpose, and the alterations damaged the original interior. Today it is mostly residential, with a smaller part of the ground floor public. Beside it stands the former Church of St Catherine, a single-nave building of irregular orientation with a rectangular sanctuary facing south, connected to the convent by a vaulted passage. The complex dates from the 14th century.

The ensemble is a protected cultural property, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-6812.

Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: DGU (centre of the settlement).