Despite going through a war which caused much devastation to both the lad and its cultural heritage, Croatia has been able to preserve its jewels of sacred architecture, mainly those located on its coast, many of which are recognised by UNESCO.
The Split Cathedral was built in the early 4th century as part of the complex of the Roman palace of Diocletian in Split. The building, which was originally an imperial mausoleum, was not dedicated to the church until the 7th century. In the 11th century, a bell tower was added and in the 17th century, the cathedral was enlarged by the construction of an apse in the choir. Consecrated as a cathedral at the turn of the 7th century AD, it is considered to be the oldest Catholic cathedrals in the world that remains in use in its original structure. Being a part of Diocletian's Palace complex, it is included as a World Heritage Site.
The Euphrasian Basilica, now the cathedral of Poreč, was built in the 6th century on the site of an early Christian church at the time of Emperor Justinian I (483-565). The complex of the Euphrasian Basilica includes the Basilica, the Parish Church, the Sacristy, the Baptistery and Bell Tower, the Oratory of Mauro and the nearby Episcopal Palace. The mosaics of the interior and the facade of the church are among the best-preserved works of Byzantine art. In 1997, UNESCO declared the basilica a World Heritage Site.
St. James Cathedral in Šibenik was built in three phases from 1431 to 1536. The building mixes Gothic architecture, especially Tuscan Gothic, with Renaissance features, such as the dome, making it one of the most interesting buildings in Croatia from this period. Due to its outstanding features, the cathedral was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.
The construction of Trogir Cathedral began in 1213 on the foundations of an old Christian cathedral destroyed by the Saracens in 1123. Its construction lasted until the 16th century with the completion of the bell tower. The building has a wide variety of styles, from Romanesque to Baroque, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
The church and monastery of St. Dominic were founded in the 13th century, but the church of St. Dominic was not completed until the 1370s and the cloister was built in the mid-15th century. This part of the monastery was badly damaged during the Second World War. The eastern wing of the monastery was renovated from 1974 to 1976, and the western wing was renovated by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments in Split.
The Church of St. Blaise was built between 1706 and 1715 by the Venetian architect and sculptor Marino Gropelli (1662-1728) on the foundations of the badly damaged 14th century Romanesque church. The vaulted interior is richly decorated in the Baroque style. The building was damaged in the 1979 earthquake and during the Croatian war of independence (1991-1992). St. Blaise is the patron saint of the city of Dubrovnik and once the protector of the independent Republic of Ragusa.
St. Ignatius Church is a Jesuit church completed in 1725. It was built as a single-nave Baroque church with a representative façade, modelled on the church of St. Ignatius in Rome. The design was made by the architect Andrea Pozzo. In 1885 an artificial grotto was erected in the church, dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, one of the oldest in Europe.
