Dalmatia

33 lesser-known places in Dalmatia, with history, curiosities, a map and tours nearby.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors

33 places

The Blaca Hermitage, a stone monastery complex in a valley on the island of Brač

Church & monastery

Blaca Hermitage

Brač · hidden hermitage with a monk's observatory

The two surviving arches of the principia of the Roman camp at Burnum, near Kistanje

Roman & ancient

Burnum

Burnum · Roman legionary camp with a rock-cut amphitheatre

The ruined Čačvina fortress on its hilltop above the village of Čačvina

Castle & fortress

Čačvina Castle

Čačvina · ruined hilltop fort on an ancient route

The round Church of St Donatus in Zadar, built on the Roman forum

Church & monastery

Church of St Donatus

Zadar · round Pre-Romanesque church built on the Roman forum

Courtyard of Dragović Monastery

Church & monastery

Dragović Monastery

Vrlika · Orthodox monastery moved to Lake Peruća

The Golden Gate of Diocletian's Palace in Split, with its arch, niches and blind arcade

Roman & ancient

Golden Gate

Split · Roman north gate with empty niches and a tiny church

Ruins of Gvozdansko Castle, a Zrinski fortress in Sisak-Moslavina County

Castle & fortress

Gvozdansko Castle

Gvozdansko · Zrinski fortress and mint, known for the siege of 1577

Ruins of the Hollow Church, the Basilica of Saint Peter and Moses, in Solin

Church & monastery

Hollow Church

Solin · ruined 11th-century coronation church beside Salona

Kamerlengo Castle in Trogir seen from the sea, with its polygonal tower facing the water

Castle & fortress

Kamerlengo Castle

Trogir · Venetian sea fortress on the old town's edge

Klis Fortress seen from the south-west, perched on its rocky ridge above the village of Klis

Castle & fortressFilmed here

Klis Fortress

Klis · royal seat and frontier fortress above Split

Knin, Croatia: the town with its fortress on the hill above

Castle & fortress

Knin Fortress

Knin · Croatia's second-largest fortress, a royal seat

The church of the Archangel Michael at Krka Monastery in central Dalmatia

Church & monastery

Krka Monastery

Kistanje · monastery built over Roman and Gothic remains

Krupa Monastery by the Krupa river in northern Dalmatia

Church & monastery

Krupa Monastery

Krupa · Orthodox monastery on the Krupa river, Dalmatia

Fort Lovrijenac on its rock outside the western walls of Dubrovnik

Castle & fortressFilmed here

Lovrijenac

Dubrovnik · rock fort with a famous freedom motto

The old Maslenica Bridge, a steel arch carrying the D8 road over the Novsko Ždrilo strait

Maslenica Bridge

Maslenica · steel arch bridge rebuilt after 1991

The Cetina gorge just beyond Omiš, below the Mirabella fortress

Castle & fortress

Mirabella Fortress (Peovica)

Omiš · Romanesque tower above the Cetina gorge

The Monument to the Sun on the Zadar waterfront, a circle of glass plates set into the stone paving and lit up

Monument to the Sun

Zadar · solar-powered light circle next to the Sea Organ

Roman temple of the Augusteum at Narona, 1st century, in Vid near Metković

Roman & ancient

Narona

Narona · Roman colony and Augusteum on the Neretva

Fort Nutjak on its cliff above the canyon of the Cetina River near Trilj

Castle & fortress

Nutjak Fort

Trilj · ruined round-tower fortress above the Cetina canyon

Ostrovica Fortress and its rocky crag seen from the south

Castle & fortress

Ostrovica Fortress

Ostrovica · ruined crag fortress, once the Key to Zadar

The Pag Bridge, a slender concrete arch spanning the Adriatic strait of Ljubačka Vrata

Pag Bridge

Pag Bridge · 1968 concrete arch battered by the bora

The Pelješac Bridge crossing the sea channel between Komarna and the Pelješac peninsula

Pelješac Bridge

Pelješac · 2.4 km cable-stayed bridge opened in 2022

The episcopal centre of Salona, with the remains of the early Christian complex near Split

Roman & ancient

Salona

Solin · Roman capital of Dalmatia and Croatia's largest archaeological park

The Sea Organ, the white marble steps that make music with the waves on the Zadar waterfront

Sea Organ

Zadar · marble steps that play music with the sea

St Blaise's Church in the Old Town of Dubrovnik, with its Baroque façade

Church & monastery

St Blaise's Church

Dubrovnik · Baroque church of the city's patron saint

Aerial view of St. Nicholas Fortress on its islet at the entrance to St. Anthony Channel

Castle & fortress

St. Nicholas Fortress

Šibenik · UNESCO-listed Venetian fort on a sea islet

The Temple of Jupiter in Diocletian's Palace, Split

Roman & ancient

Temple of Jupiter, Split

Split · Roman temple turned baptistery inside Diocletian's Palace

Tilurium at Gardun above the town of Trilj, view of the archaeological site

Roman & ancient

Tilurium

Gardun, Trilj · Roman legionary fortress above the Cetina

Rear side of Tvrdalj Castle, the fortified Renaissance house of Petar Hektorović in Stari Grad on Hvar

Castle & fortress

Tvrdalj Castle

Stari Grad, Hvar · Renaissance poet's house with a fishpond

Vela Spila cave above Vela Luka on the island of Korčula

Roman & ancient

Vela Spila

Vela Luka · cave with 20,000 years of human traces

Veli Rat Lighthouse with its white tower and yellow keeper's house on Dugi Otok

Veli Rat Lighthouse

Dugi Otok · 1849 lighthouse with a yellow keeper's house

Aerial view of Ston and its walls from the south-west, on the Pelješac peninsula

Castle & fortress

Walls of Ston

Ston · Europe's “Great Wall”, built to guard salt

Ruins of Zrin Castle among the woods of Zrinska Gora

Castle & fortress

Zrin Castle

Zrin · ruined cradle of the Zrinski family