Tourists after sacral destinations can find many places of interest in Croatia, among them are a few interesting shrines and sanctuaries near the city of Split.
The Lady of Sinj shrine hails back to the start of 18th century when the frequent Ottoman raids on Cetina and it environs were making life very difficult for the locals. An overwhelmingly large Ottoman force attacked the fortress of Sinj in 1715 and the local Franciscans placed a painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the fortress for safekeeping. As the attackers began destroying the city walls, the Blessed Virgin started appearing to them, striking fear into their hearts which forced them into a mass retreat. Thousands of pilgrims visit the site every year.
The Marian Shrine of Our Lady of the Island rests in Solin, where the Croatian queen Jelena had a church built. The Vepric Shrine is a cave near the city of Makarska. Dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes and founded in 1908 by Bishop Carić, it is popular because of its great natural beauty and serene surroundings, because of which a large number of pilgrims visits throughout the year.
A short car ride from Split, in the nearby Herzegovina, lies the Crnica hill and its village of Međugorje which came to global attention in 1981 when six youths witnessed an appearance by the Virgin Mary, holding a child in her arms. It is one the most visited Blessed Virgin shrines in the world, almost rivaling Fatima and Lourdes. Millions of pilgrims have passed through so far, and hundreds of thousands can testify to deep spiritual changes the pilgrimage has made to their lives.
All pilgrims and sacral tourists are invited to stay at the Luxe hotel, offering lovely and accessible accommodation as well as being the perfect place to start and end your visits to some of the holiest places in Croatia.
