About 500 metres south of Brovinje are the Church of the Beheading of St John the Baptist and the abbey. The church is a single-nave Romanesque building from the 14th century. A Gothic portal and bell-gable sit alongside its Romanesque form; inside are frescoes from the early 15th century. For those interested in cultural history, the appeal lies in the different historical layers: the floor plan and construction period, Gothic details and later frescoes can all be seen in one building.

Church, Abbey and Gradac

The church grounds include a cemetery and the collapsed remains of St John’s Abbey. A Bronze Age fortification and a medieval tower belonging to the Battiala family once stood on nearby Gradac Hill. Both were destroyed by the expansion of a quarry in the early 1990s. The history of the area thus encompasses sacred architecture as well as the history of fortifications and a family; the events on Gradac belong to the past.

Landscape and Hiking Trails

The grasslands above Brovinje, together with grasslands near settlements in the Skitača area, form part of a proposed area for floristic protection identified in the spatial plan of Istria County. The proposal therefore includes land above the village and other grasslands in the Skitača area.

A nearby hiking option is the Vale di Tono trail, a 15.7-kilometre loop from Camp Tunarica via Viškovići, Skitača and Crna Punta. The listed elevation is 550 metres, and the duration is 4.5 hours. These figures help you estimate how long the hike will take; check trail conditions locally before setting out.

More Things to Explore in the Wider Destination of Općina Raša

Raša was built between 1936 and 1937 as a planned mining town to designs by architect Gustavo Pulitzer Finali. The Raša mine employed more than 10,000 miners from 1928 to 1966. The small Centar Arsia museum in Raša’s town square presents the town’s mining heritage. Centar Arsia is accessible to people with disabilities and people with reduced mobility; confirm accessibility details before your visit.

Kova Experience offers tours of the mine. Visitors enter a mine and experience a day in the life of a miner. Check booking details before your trip. The Church of Sv. Barbara in Raša also brings together architecture and mining history: its shape recalls an upside-down mining cart, and its bell tower a mine lamp. The tower is 25 metres high.

In Skitača stands the single-nave Baroque Church of Sv. Lucija, built at the beginning of the 17th century. The Bella Vista Trail follows a white road through Gora Glušići to Skitača; from there, the route offers a view of Kvarner. These buildings and trails are in the wider destination of Općina Raša and form a distinct theme alongside Brovinje’s church and local history.

The coast there offers different highlights, too. Below the pebble beach at Zidovi Sv. Marine are three reefs that descend directly from the beach into the open sea to a depth of 55 metres. The site offers numerous dives for divers of all categories; local sea conditions remain relevant when planning. The Rt Crna Punta lighthouse is best reached by boat, although local conditions may affect landing.

Discover more destinations: Polje, Viskovici, Crni, Sveta Marina, Raša, Trgetari, Sveti Bartul, Barbići

For the wider travel overview: Općina Raša.