Visovac

The island of Visovac is among the most important natural and cultural features of the Republic of Croatia. The hermits of St. Augustine have been located there until the middle of the 15^th century, from 1445 the Franciscans, who built the monastery and the church of the Mother of Mercy there in 1576, and together with the magnificent landscape of Visovac Lake, they create a unique ambient.

During its turbulent history, Visovac was and remained an island of peace and prayer, while the Franciscan monastery was a fortress of spirituality and faith, but also one of the cornerstones for the survival of the Croats and the preservation of a Croatian national identity. The monastery possesses a significant archaeological collection, a collection of historical church vestments and vessels, and a wealthy library with many valuable books and incunabula. The monastery, church, island of Visovac, and Visovac Lake together represent a natural, cultural, historical, and spiritual whole. The centre of worship of the Mother of God at Visovac is the painting of Our Lady, which was said to have been brought by the Franciscans when they left Bosnia in the face of the Ottoman Turkish invasions and found a new sanctuary at Visovac. The earliest evidence for the worship of Our Lady of Visovac is a poem by Father Pavle Posilović from 1639. The island of Visovac itself is called Our Lady’s Island because of the centuries of worship.