St Stephen's Cathedral

Hvar Town


Providing a grand backdrop to the main square, this baroque cathedral was built in the 16th and 17th centuries at the height of the Dalmatian Renaissance to replace a cathedral destroyed by the Turks. Parts of the older building include stone reliefs of saints near the rear of the nave and carved 15th-century choir stalls. The building's most distinctive feature is its tall, rectangular bell tower, which sprouts an additional window at each level, giving it an oddly top-heavy appearance.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Hvar Town attractions

1. Episcopal Museum

0.02 MILES

Adjoining the cathedral, this treasury houses silver vessels, embroidered liturgical robes, numerous Madonnas, a 13th-century icon, an elaborately carved…

2. Trg Sv Stjepana

0.05 MILES

Stretching from the harbour to the cathedral, this impressive rectangular square was formed by filling in an inlet that once reached out from the bay. At…

3. Benedictine Convent

0.09 MILES

Playwright and poet Hanibal Lucić was born here in 1485, but this town house has been home to a community of Benedictine nuns since 1664. Over the…

4. Arsenal

0.09 MILES

Mentioned in Venetian documents as ‘the most beautiful and the most useful building in the whole of Dalmatia’, the Arsenal once served as a repair and…

5. Fortica

0.19 MILES

Looming high above the town and lit with a golden glow at night, this medieval castle occupies the site of an ancient Illyrian settlement dating from…

6. Franciscan Monastery

0.27 MILES

Overlooking a pretty cove, this 15th-century monastery has an elegant bell tower, built in the 16th century by a well-known family of stonemasons from…

7. Pokonji Dol

0.85 MILES

This large pebbly beach is literally at the end of the road if you're following the coast east from Hvar Town. There's a large restaurant here.

8. Jerolim

1.03 MILES

The closest of the Pakleni Islands to Hvar, the island of Jerolim is entirely clothing optional.