Dobrinj Municipality: Church Art, Coves and Boatbuilding

Churches and History in Dobrinj

The Ethnographic Collection in Dobrinj can be visited during the summer months. At other times, you need to register by telephone in advance with Dobrinj Municipality. This makes it easier to fit a visit into your holiday plans: the collection has different visiting arrangements depending on the season.

The churches each tell their own stories. The Parish Church of St Stephen is one of the oldest parish churches and is mentioned as early as 1100 in a Glagolitic document. It houses a collection of sacred art featuring liturgical objects, paintings and sculptures from the 14th to the 19th century. Anyone interested in religious art and historical objects will find works spanning a broad period here.

The Church of the Holy Trinity in Dobrinj displays exhibits from the Dobrinj area. One of its distinctive features is the Maskeron: an impressive sculpture of a man's head, believed to date from 1738 and to have been created by a local folk artist. In Klimno, meanwhile, the Church of St Clement houses a protected wooden Renaissance polyptych depicting the Madonna and Child with saints. These examples offer different ways to explore sacred art without needing to combine them into a single visit.

Other churches can be found in the individual villages. The medieval Church of St Philip and St James stands on a secluded small hill above Soline. The Church of St Peter on the hill in Gabonjin is considered the area's most representative sacred building.

Coves, a Beach and Distinctive Local Stories

St Peter's Bay in Soline is mentioned as early as 1379 and 1465 in Glagolitic documents. These early references make the local history especially tangible here. Soline Bay is considered the only place on Krk with medicinal herbs. Meline Beach is known for its healing mud, which is said to have a beneficial effect in relieving various types of bone pain.

For a beach day with children, Pećine Beach in Šilo is an option: it is considered suitable for children and has been awarded the Blue Flag. Šilo is also a tourist centre in the Dobrinj area.

In Rudine, Biserujka Cave is presented to visitors as a place to explore. Near Šilo is also the underwater site of the Greek shipwreck Peltastis; island diving clubs organise dives there. These are two different ways to explore: a cave and an underwater site. The dives take place at the wreck site.

Klimno: Boats and Craftsmanship

Klimno has a mooring for boats. There are also workshops in the village where boats are built and repaired. Anyone interested in boats not only as a means of transport but also in the craftsmanship behind them will find a tangible connection to the place here. Fast boats and smaller boats used to operate on the former ferry route; this information refers to the former service.

An Annual Celebration

Stipanja is the feast day of the patron saint of the parish and Dobrinj Municipality. It is celebrated on 3 August with an Old Church Slavonic service, a folklore programme in the square in the afternoon and a folk festival in the evening. If you are considering planning a stay around this date, it brings together religious tradition, folklore and a community celebration. The programme follows a clear sequence, from the service to the afternoon events and the evening folk festival.

Other village pages in the municipality include Dobrinj, Gabonjin, Polje, Silo, Zupanje, Kras, Klimno, Hlapa, Soline, Rasopasno, Tribulje, Klanice, Sužan, Gostinjac, Rudine, Cizici and Žestilac.

For the overall travel guide: Krk.