Brač is filled with mind-blowing historical sites and legends. Over the thousands of years of human history, we’ve produced some pretty amazing stuff, even if, sadly, not all of it has lasted in its full glory until today.
With so many breathtaking and incredible sites, it’s hard to narrow down the best - but we tried. Below are our favourite historical sites that we think every traveller should try to visit at some point.
Explore the ancient wonders of the island with our list of the best historic sites of Island Brač.
Kopačina Cave in Donji Humac
Our journey through the history of Brač must start in a cave not far from the village of Donji Humac.
Kopačina Cave was inhabited from 8000 BC. It contains the oldest traces of prehistoric man in Dalmatia and one of the oldest in the entire Adriatic.
Unfortunately, the cave is closed to visitors due to research, but you can see some of the findings in the nearby restaurant Kopačina and our next stop - Island of Brač Museum in Škrip.
Island of Brač Museum in Škrip
The museum is located in the oldest settlement on the island. It is believed that Škrip is over 5000 years old and it is often called Croatian Mycenae. There you can find traces of the ancient Greeks, Illyrians, the Roman Empire and towers built for defence against the Turks.
The museum itself is a historical site of the Roman mausoleum where, according to legend, the wife and daughter of the Roman emperor Diocletian were buried.
It preserves many valuable objects, the most prominent are the relief of Hercules, findings from Mirje Monastery Complex and the copy of the Povlja lintel - which we will discuss below.
Relief of Hercules in Splitska
Just above Splitska, there is the old quarry Rasohe, where Romans mined stone for building Diocletian Palace in the 3rd century.
At the very entrance of the quarry, carved into the cliff, stands the relief of Hercules. Two similar reliefs from other Roman quarries can be found at the Island of Brač Museum in Škrip.
Mirje Monastery Complex in Postira
Mirje is a late antique site above Postira. In the 6th century, an early Christian basilica was built on this antique foundation and later in the Middle Ages a Benedictine monastery took the place of the basilica. Today you can see only the remains of this amazing historic sight.
Parish church in Supetar
We are still in the 6th century where next to the Parish Church in Supetar you can see an extremely well-preserved early Christian mosaic. The entire complex that surrounds the church, containing the bell tower, clock tower, museum and old primary school building is a protected cultural asset.
Sacral heritage of the island of Brač
There are 116 churches, with dozens of chapels scattered throughout the island. So it is considered that the concentration of sacral heritage is by far the highest in the entire Mediterranean.
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Between the 6th and 12th centuries, many small early Christian and mediaeval churches were built on the island, many of which are still preserved today. We will mention only two of them.
The first one is the early Christian basilica in Povlja from the 6th century. It is considered one of the most sacred buildings of this kind in Croatia. In the 12th century the church was restored after being destroyed by pirates and above the door, they put a lintel with a text. That piece of limestone, called Povaljski Prag (Povlja Lintel) is today considered as the oldest written monument of the Croatian language.
The second one is the early Christian Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lovrečina bay near Postira was built in the 6th century. It was an imposing building with several rooms, a baptistery and a Benedictine monastery. The entire complex was probably set on fire by pirates in the Middle Ages.
Charter of Povlja
While we are in that small and quiet village on the northeast side of the island we need to mention the Charter of Povlja. This legal document from the 13th century is considered the oldest known finding written in the Čakavian dialect (language spoken primarily by Croats along the Adriatic coast). Today it is kept in the parish office in Pučišća.
Dragon's Cave near Bol
In our pursuit of historical sites on Island Brač, we are moving to the 15th century above the village of Murvice near Bol. There we will find a cave that has been attracting visitors from all over the world for years.
Dragon's Cave is a monument to the monastic life of a Glagolitic priest with a unique blend of Christian and Pagan traditions and a magnificent interior decorated with carved reliefs.
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Blaca Monastery and Hermitage
It is assumed that the same Glagolitic priest founded one of the greatest pearls of the Island Brač - Blaca Monastery.
The hermitage's origin was in the 16th century in a stone partitioned cave. From then on, the diligent hermits built church and farm buildings. They turned forest and stone into vineyards and olive groves and managed to survive in such conditions for 4 centuries.
They didn’t just survive there, they built a school, printing house, archive, library, merchant ships and a world-famous observatory.
Dominican Monastery and Museum in Bol
Dominican Monastery in Bol was founded in the 15th century and it represents an imposing place to visit. The monastery has a library with rare copies of books and manuscripts. Books, artwork, a valuable numismatic collection and other valuables are housed in the museum with exhibits covering the period from prehistory, through antiquity to the 18th century.
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Baterija Fortification near Milna
Baterija is the largest maritime fort on the island built in 1806, during the French administration to prevent Russian ships from occupying the area. The fort was an important strategic point during the Napoleonic Wars with the main purpose to defend the city of Split ruled by a famous French general Marmont.
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We have come to the end. Be sure to let us know your impressions when you visit everything on our list of must-see historic sites on Island Brač.
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