Krk Cathedral

Why it is worth your time

The cathedral of the Assumption of Mary is the heart of Krk's millennial story: a three-nave Romanesque basilica of the 12th century, raised on the site of an early Christian church and Roman baths whose traces still read in the foundations. Grown onto it is the older church of St Quirinus, the town's protector, so two churches share a wall and a belfry in a complex the Adriatic has nowhere else; the belfry with the angel on its top became Krk's trademark. The interior carries the layers of every century: ancient columns with early Christian capitals, the Gothic chapel of the Frankopan counts, Baroque altars and a pulpit, with the odd Roman tombstone built into the walls.

The cathedral is the seat of the diocese of Krk, one of the oldest on the Croatian coast, and a living parish church: masses keep their order and sightseeing adapts. Come through the door from the waterfront an hour before evening mass, when the sun gilds the stone through the windows; half an hour suffices for the whole, and the belfry with the angel photographs best from the pier in the harbour.