The Visovac Monastery (), part of the Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Redeemer 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, enter ...

, 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

(

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

) monastery on the island of Visovac in the

Krka National Park Krka National Park () is one of the Croatian national parks, named after the river Krka (Adriatic Sea), Krka (ancient Greek language, ancient Greek: ''Kyrikos'') that it encloses. It is located along the middle-lower course of the Krka (Adriatic ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. 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 The 14th century lasted from 1 January 1301 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCCI) to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and natural disasters in both Euro ...

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

Apostle Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

. In 1445, it was enlarged and adapted by

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

, who settled on the island having withdrawn from parts of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

when invading

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

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 An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside (printing), broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentiall ...

Aesop's fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a Slavery in ancient Greece, slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 Before the Common Era, BCE. Of varied and unclear origins, the stor ...

(

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

1487) printed by the

Lastovo Lastovo () is an archipelago municipality in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 people, of which 94.7% are ethnic Croats, and a land area of approximately . ''Lastovo Munic ...

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

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

once belonging to

Vuk Mandušić Vuk Mandušić ( sr-cyr, 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 Dalmatian ...

, one of the best-loved heroes of

Serbian epic poetry Serbian epic poetry () is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centu ...

, 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 the Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. Located in the Dalmatian Hinterland, it is about halfway between Šibenik and Knin. History The name Drniš was mentioned for the first time in a contract dated March 8, 1494. However, the ...

, six kilometers from

Skradin Skradin is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia. It is located near the Krka (Croatia), Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and from Split, Croatia, Split. The main attraction of the park, Slapo ...

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 1440s Buildings and structures in Šibenik-Knin County Tourist attractions in Šibenik-Knin County {{catholic-monastery-stub