JELSA

 Jelsa is a town situated in a beautiful cove on the northern coast of the island of Hvar. It was founded in the 14^th century as a port for the inland village of Pitve and spread around the churches of Saint Fabian an Sebastian and Saint John.

In the 16^th century a fort was erected over the town to protect it from the Turks and by the 19^th century Jelsa had grown into a prosperous fishing village.

In the central Baroque square, there is a Baroque St. John’s church together with several Baroque houses owned by the richer inhabitants of Jelsa.

The picturesque peninsula of Gradina is a location where an Augustinian hermitage was established in 1599 and replaced by the cemetery in 1807. An ancient castrum stood there in Roman times.

See more places: