PHOTO: LUCIANO GRMOVŠEK
Sacral Heritage

The Church of Holy Salvation

Cetina, area of the spring of cetina river, with the church of st. Spas is well known location as the best preserved sacral monument of the early medieval church architecture in Croatia and it is the only church from the 9th century whose tower still stands. Almost 1200 old Croatian graves with rich archaeological findings were found around this church. The most valuable piece is gold plated censer of the missionaries that baptized Croats at the end of the 8th and beginnig of the 9th century.

Krka Monastery

Three and half kilometers to the east of Kistanje, is a spiritual center of the Ortodox religion- the Krka Monastery. Built on the foundations of an earlier hermitage, it was mentioned in written documents for the first time in 1402. Adjacent to it is a recent church built in the Byzantine style, while an insufficiently well-known graveyard is located underneath the monastery. Rijeka Krka po kojoj je manastir dobio ime, u ovom dijelu svog toga obiluje biljnim i životinjskim vrstama koje bujaju svojom puninom zahvaljujući vodi što im daje život i miru koji imaju zbog nenazočnosti čovjeka.

Crkva sv. Antuna Padovanskog

The sacral object that has become one of the symbols of the city of Knin is certainly the church of St. Ante.The church was built in the 18th century, at a place where it was probably an old Croatian church, and has been renovated several times to this day.

The church of St. Anthony is without a doubt one of the symbols of the town of Knin. It was built in the 18th century on the site of what was once probably an Early Croatian church, and it has been renovated several times. This church has a layout with three naves in the shape of a crucifix, and a semi-circular apse facing towards the north-west. It was constructed from finely carved stone. The roof has an open wooden construction, and there is a bell-tower in the church. The church was damaged in a fire in 1993, but following the liberation of Knin in 1995, Franciscan monks started to work on its renovation according to the blueprints provided by two architects from Zagreb, Prof. Nenad Fabijanić and Božidar Uršulić. The church was consecrated on 6 December 1998, and has remained in function ever since. 

Monastery Oćestovo

The construction of the votive church Eparchy Dalmatian Holy Martyr Sunday in Oćestovo began in 1928, because the Orthodox Dalmatians, especially the residents of Ocestovo wanted to raise a church in the place of birth of the great Bishop of Dalmatian Stefan Knezevic (1853-1890). The church is dedicated to the Holy, Great Week, which enjoys special respect among Orthodox in Dalmatia, confirmed by a large number of other churches erected in memory of her.

Until its consecration in 1960, the Church of Holy Sunday belonged to pađenskoj parish, and in 1960 became an independent parish church. Orthodox Dalmatians are traditionally gathered on Parliament in Oćestovo first Sunday after St. Peter's Day, when in this votive church of the Diocese of Dalmatia solemnly celebrated the feast of the Holy Great Martyr Sunday.

Because of the great importance of the votive church of the Eparchy of Dalmatia, which throughout its history has already become a place of pilgrimage and pilgrimages, to the Orthodox and Roman Catholics and representatives of other religions, Bishop Dalmatian gg Fotije by the decision of the church of the Holy Martyr Sunday in Oćestovo declared the monastery.

Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin 

The original Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in Knin was constructed in the second half of the 19th century, more specifically in 1866. It was bombed and completely destroyed in the Second World War in 1944. The construction of a new church started thanks to the persistence and efforts of the Orthodox bishop of Dalmatia at the time, Stefan. The church was completed and consecrated in 1971.

Prvobitni hram Pokrova Presvete Bogorodice u Kninu podignut je u drugoj polovini XIX stoljeća, točnije 1866. godine. U drugom svjetskom ratu porušen je do temelja bombardiranjem 1944. godine. Zalaganjem i trudom tadašnjeg Episkopa dalmatinskog G. Stefana, počela je gradnja novog hrama, koji je završen i posvećen 1971. godine.

Our Lady of the Great Croatian Baptismal

In the year 2015, Knin got a new, magnificent church. As a link to history, the present and the future, the new church in Knin carries the title of Our Lady of the Great Croatian Baptismal Testament after the ancient portrait called Our Lady of the Great Testament, which is the oldest known figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, found in Biskupija near Knin.

In 2016, architect Ante Vrban received the regional “International Property Award” for the interior design of the Church of Our Lady of the Great Croatian Baptismal Vow in Knin, in the public service interior category.