The Visovac Monastery ( hr, Samostan Visovac), part of the

Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Redeemer Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Redeemer ( hr, Franjevačka provincija Presvetog Otkupitelja, la, Provincia franciscana Sanctissimi Redemptoris) is a province of the Order of the Friars Minor (Franciscans) of the Catholic Church based in Spli ...

based in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertain ...

, is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

(

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the '' sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while d ...

) monastery on the island of Visovac in the

Krka National Park Krka National Park ( hr, Nacionalni park Krka) is one of the Croatian national parks, named after the river Krka (ancient Greek: ''Kyrikos'') that it encloses. It is located along the middle-lower course of the Krka River in central Dalmatia, i ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Because of the centuries-long devotion to the Mother of God, Visovac is also called Mother of God Island.

History

Visovac was established in the

14th century As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and na ...

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: * Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sai ...

monks, who erected a small monastery and church on the island dedicated to the

Apostle Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. In 1445, it was enlarged and adapted by

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

, who settled on the island having withdrawn from parts of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

when invading

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

had taken over. A new monastery was constructed in the 18th century. The oldest preserved part of the current complex dates from the 14th century. The monastery houses a historically significant collection of Christian books and a rich library containing many historical manuscripts and rare books, including a rare

incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...

Aesop's fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended t ...

(

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Ise ...

1487) printed by the

Lastovo Lastovo (; it, Lagosta, german: Augusta, la, Augusta Insula, el, Ladestanos, Illyrian: ''Ladest'') is an island municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 p ...

printer

Dobrić Dobričević Bonino De' Boninis (also known as Dobrić Dobričević) one of the pioneers of printing in Europe, was born in 1454 on the small Adriatic Island of Lastovo in the Republic of Ragusa (modern Croatia). Dobrić began to print books in 1478 when he j ...

, and a collection of documents known as "the sultan's edicts". A

sabre A sabre (French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as the ...

once belonging to

Vuk Mandušić Vuk Mandušić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Мандушић; Vučen Mandušić, ''Vucen Mandussich''; 1645 – died 13 July 1648) was the ''capo direttore'' of the Morlach army, one of the most prominent ''harambaša'' (rebel leaders) in the Dalmatia ...

, one of the best-loved heroes of

Serbian epic poetry Serbian epic poetry ( sr, Српске епске народне песме, Srpske epske narodne pesme) is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The ...

, is also housed at Visovac.Naklada Naprijed, ''The Croatian Adriatic Tourist Guide'', pg. 208, Zagreb (1999),

Geography

The island has 17.376 m of coastline. It has an oval shape about the size of 170 × 120 meters. The southeastern side of the island has an adjacent elongated shallow shelf of triangular shape. Visovac is a 10-minute drive from

Drniš Drniš is a town in Croatia, located in inland Dalmatia, about halfway between Šibenik and Knin. History The name Drniš was mentioned for the first time in a contract dated March 8, 1494. However, there are traces of older Middle Ages' fortr ...

, six kilometers from

Skradin Skradin ( it, Scardona; grc, Σκάρδων) is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, with a population of 3,825 (2011 census). It is located near the Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and f ...

and is accessible only by boat.

Gallery

File:Visovac 2021.jpg File:Oskrnavljeno raspelo.jpg File:Slike na Visovcu.jpg File:Samostan.jpg File:Otok Visovac.jpg File:Samostan Visovac 2021.jpg File:Hrvatski otok Visovac.jpg File:Hrvatski otok Visovac 2021.jpg

References

External links

*
Official site

Krka National Park - Visovac
1445 establishments in Europe Franciscan monasteries in Croatia Christian monasteries established in the 14th century Buildings and structures in Šibenik-Knin County Tourist attractions in Šibenik-Knin County {{Christian-monastery-stub