Attractions

Bašćanska ploča, the oldest document of Croatian literacy, was discovered in 1851 by young Baška priest Petar Dorčić in the floor of St. Lucy’s Church, an early Romanesque building in Jurandvor near Baška. It is a big stone tablet written in the Glagolitic alphabet.

The text written on the tablet was a subject of interest for the scientists of the time. It has become an important source of information about the development of the Croatian Glagolytic script, of the Croatian language and culture in general. It has confirmed the existence of the Croatian state since the earliest days, it mentions the name of the Croatian king Zvonimir and marks the northern borders of his kingdom on the Island of Krk.

The text on the Tablet was partially decoded in 1865 and fully in 1875. It was assumed that the text on the tablet contained secret data, but it turned out that it was in fact a confirmation of the donation of land that  king Zvonimir had donated to the Benedictine monastery of Sv. Lucija. It mentions the witnesses of this deed of donation and describes the time when the donation actually took place. From this document it can be concluded that it dates back to the year 1100. In 1934 the Tablet was transferred to the Academy of Science and Art in Zagreb where it is still kept today. Its copy is located in the Church of Sv. Lucija . Today, both the Church and the partially renovated monastic complex attract a great number of visitors.
The Glagolitza is a Slav script that originated from the stylization of the Greek italics around the middle of the 9th century.

St. Ćiril is the most frequently mentioned as author of the Glagolitza. He used this type of script for his translation of church books into the old-Slavic language.

Look for the brochure "Kvarner's cultural history"