Vrbanj offers several distinct points of interest for a cultural stay: a prehistoric hillfort, ecclesiastical architecture and art history, a continuing procession, and the Za Unesco-m 704 route. When planning your trip, you can focus on local history and religious tradition, or consider the route as a topic in its own right.

Archaeological Traces and Processions

Hum – Sv. Vid is a prehistoric hillfort between Dol sv. Ane and Vrbanj. The remains of the Chapel of Saint Vitus are located in its western part. A prehistoric fortification and the remains of a chapel thus represent distinct historical themes.

The residents of nearby Vrbanj maintain a procession to Hum – Sv. Vid. Vrbanj is also one of the six settlements associated with the UNESCO-listed Za Križen procession. This religious night procession, which is more than 500 years old, takes place from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday. Together with the archaeological traces, these links to processions offer another point of reference if you are interested in the religious history of the area.

Historic Buildings and Church Art

The medieval building complex in Vrbanj is also called The King’s Court. It is believed to have served as the seat of the dukes before the commune was founded. This interpretation of its history is therefore explicitly tentative.

The Church of the Holy Spirit was built in the 18th century on the site of an older church. Its main altar bears an altarpiece by Baldassare d’Anna depicting the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. The building’s history and the artwork offer two specific points of interest for a cultural and historical perspective: the site of the older church and the clearly identified subject of the painting. Together with the possible former function of The King’s Court, they present a picture that encompasses both medieval and ecclesiastical architectural and art history.

The Za Unesco-m 704 Route

The Za Unesco-m 704 route passes through Dol and Vrbanj. After leaving Vrbanj, it runs through vineyards and olive groves towards Jelsa. Its total length is 22.7 kilometres. This gives you both a specific distance and a sequence of places and landscapes: after passing through Dol and Vrbanj, the route continues through vineyards and olive groves towards Jelsa.

Culture in the Wider Destination of Stari Grad

The wider destination of Stari Grad has its own cultural and landscape context. The Stari Grad Plain (Starogradsko polje) is a cultural landscape shaped over millennia; its rectangular plots are bounded by dry-stone walls.

The Dominican Monastery of Saint Peter the Martyr was founded in 1482. After the Turkish attack on the island of Hvar at the end of the 16th century, it was fortified with two round towers. The monastery museum preserves the oldest Greek inscriptions found in Croatia. The churches also provide their own historical points of reference: the Church of Saint Stephen (Crkva sv. Stjepana) is a Baroque building whose construction began in 1605. The Church of Saint Roch (Crkva sv. Roka) is located right next to the Tvrdalj and is dedicated to the patron saint of Stari Grad. These themes add cultural landscape, monastic history and church architecture to the context explicitly associated with Stari Grad.

Discover more destinations: Stari Grad, Rudina.

Go to the wider travel overview: Stari Grad.