St. John the Baptist Church

The church of Saint John the Baptist, in Trogir

The church of Saint John the Baptist is a small Romanesque building of the thirteenth century, former church of a vanished Benedictine monastery of Trogir. The Trogir audio-guided tour stops here, with respect, to evoke this chapel of sober beauty of white stone of Dalmatia, become a small lapidary museum sheltering a collection of ecclesiastical sculptures, witness of the monastic presence in the medieval city.

History

The church of Saint John the Baptist is a small building that sometimes goes unnoticed among the great monuments of Trogir, but that deserves to be stopped at. Built in the thirteenth century, it once belonged to a male Benedictine monastery today vanished. The monks lived there according to the rule of Saint Benedict, to pray and to work, while playing an important role in the community through teaching, the copying of manuscripts and the assistance to the poorest. Its architecture is typically Romanesque: single nave, walls of white stone of Dalmatia perfectly fitted, semi-circular apse and narrow round-arched windows letting through a soft light. This deliberate bareness reflects the simple and contemplative spirituality of the Benedictines. After the closure of the monastery in the nineteenth century, the church found a new life as a small lapidary museum: you admire there a collection of ecclesiastical sculptures come from Trogir and its surroundings, each stone telling a piece of the artistic history of the city. You will visit it with respect, in the calm conducive to contemplation.

What to see

Here you discover, with respect, a small Romanesque church of the thirteenth century, former church of a vanished Benedictine monastery; its single nave of white stone of Dalmatia, its apse and its round-arched windows reflect the bare spirituality of the monks, and it today shelters a lapidary museum of ecclesiastical sculptures. The church of Saint John the Baptist is a place of memory and prayer, to be visited with respect. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The church of Saint John the Baptist lies in the heart of the old town of Trogir, reachable on foot. It is a former religious building become a lapidary museum, whose access and hours follow the conditions in force, which vary; you discover it in calm and respect. It is best to enquire before coming.

What does the church of Saint John the Baptist of Trogir shelter today?

Former church of a Benedictine monastery of the thirteenth century today vanished, it now shelters a small lapidary museum presenting a collection of ecclesiastical sculptures come from Trogir and its surroundings; its bare Romanesque architecture, with a single nave of white stone of Dalmatia, reflects the contemplative spirituality of the monks.

Where is the church of Saint John the Baptist in Trogir?

In the heart of the old town of Trogir, in Croatia.