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Spotlight on: Cathedral of St James, Sibenik

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In the next instalment of our Spotlight on… series, we now move to the charming north Dalmatian town of Sibenik and its impressive Cathedral of St James. The Cathedral is one of the most important sights in Sibenik and in fact in the whole of Croatia too – it’s a highly recognisable structure.

The Cathedral is also one of Croatia’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, added to the list in 2000. It is one of two UNESCO sites in Sibenik – the other being St Nicholas Fort which is listed as a Venetian Work of Defence from the 16th & 17th Centuries.

Use this page to find out more about the Cathedral and how to visit it.

Sibenik - The Cathedral of St. James
The Cathedral of St. James

Getting There

The Cathedral of St James is located right in the centre of Sibenik, in the old part of the town. If you’re walking down the seaside promenade known as the Riva, you will be able to see it – it’s a quick walk up a set of stone steps to read the Cathedral itself.

Reaching Sibenik to get to the Cathedral is easy as there are good bus connections from elsewhere in Croatia. The bus station in the city is also a short walk from the Cathedral.

Entrance of the Cathedral
Photos of Sibenik - St James Cathedral
Another look at the front of St James’s Cathedral

About The Cathedral of St James

The Cathedral was constructed between 1431 and 1536, with several different Italian and Dalmatian architects responsible for the look of the structure over this time. The main architects involved in the construction were Francesco di Giacomo, Georgius Mathei Dalmaticus (also known as Juraj Dalmatinac) and Niccolo di Giovanni Fiorentino. Juraj Dalmatinac directed construction work between 1444 and 1473; a famous Croatian sculptor, you can find a statue placed opposite the entrance to the Cathedral as a memorial to him.

First intended to be built as a rather straightforward church, plans of the building changed significantly to include side naves, apses, its dome and a baptistery. Almost all of this work came under the plans of Juraj Dalmatinac, and for this reason, he is so closely linked to the Cathedral.

Although there were largely three different phases to its construction, the Cathedral appears to take the form of one unified build and there is little to identify separate plans by different architects.

The relatively long construction period means the Cathedral features both Gothic and Renaissance design styles because of the transition from one to the other at the time.

Features of The Cathedral of St James

The main features of the Cathedral include its 32-metre-high dome, which sits atop 4 columns, its three naves and three apses (domed recesses) and 74 faces (or portraits) with assorted expressions on the exterior of locals of the time.

The front of the Cathedral features the Lion Gate which depicts Adam and Eve on columns supported by lions.

The interior of the Cathedral is highly detailed and features the baptistery where three angels support the baptismal font, the crypt of Bishop Sizgoric and the crypt of Bishop Stafilic.

Photos of Sibenik - St James Cathedral interior
The interior of the cathedral – look at the amazing height of the altar

Rather impressively, the Cathedral was constructed entirely from stone (limestone and marble from the nearby island of Brac) without brick or wooden supports.

The "portraits" featured on the exterior of the Cathedral
Cathedral of St James external “portraits”

Opening Hours and Price

The Cathedral can and should be enjoyed from its exterior first – do spend some time enjoying its impressive facade and walking around the three sides to admire all the detail on the outside.

Once you’ve soaked up all of the ornate external decoration, you can pay a visit to the inside of the Cathedral of St James. The Cathedral is open year-round (only by appointment from the 1st December to Easter) from 8.30am to 7.30pm or 8.30pm depending on the month. Entry fee is €3.

Do be aware that as a working Cathedral, mass takes place daily (and three times on Sundays) so you may prefer to visit at other times.

Other Ways of Seeing and Enjoying The Cathedral

You may like to join a guided walking tour of Sibenik which will include some time looking at the Cathedral. See below for some ideas of walking tours:

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More info

You can learn more about the Cathedral of St James on the Sibenik Tourist Board website. There is also a very detailed background on the Cathedral on the UNESCO World Heritage Convention website.

You can also learn plenty on this Google Arts & Culture walkthrough: The Cathedral of St James in ibenik, Croatia.

St Nicholas Fortress

Visit Croatia Review: Visiting St Nicholas’ Fortress

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If you’re visiting the lovely town of Sibenik, you’re in for a real treat! This smart town has it all – great accommodation options, good food, and some amazing sights. There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sibenik; no other location in Croatia has two such sites in the same place! Here, we will explain how to visit the impressive St Nicholas’ Fortress and review whether it is worth it.

St Nicholas Fortress
An interior shot of the fortress

St Nicholas’ Fortress – a bit of history

To expand on what we’ve said above – St Nicholas’ Fortress is indeed a UNESCO World Heritage site but under the title of “Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries”. These works of defence include six different sites; three in Italy, one in Kotor in Montenegro and the Old Town walls in Zadar.

Located in St Anthony’s Channel, out to sea from Sibenik, the fortress sits on a tiny island named Ljuljevac. Bult between 1540 and 1547 by Venetian architect Giangirolamo Sanmicheli, the fortress was indeed constructed to act as a sea defence against Ottoman boats and to protect the town of Sibenik. The Fortress obviously did its job – Sibenik was never attacked from the sea, and no naval battles in this area were ever recorded.

St Nicholas’ Fortress gets its name from the Benedictine Monastery of St Nicholas which was located on the same island but was demolished to make way for the fortress.

The fortress was opened to visitors in 2019, so it’s only been a short few years that travellers to Croatia have been able to visit the place.

How to visit St Nicholas’ Fortress

St Nicholas’ Fortress can only be visited on an official boat tour. You cannot visit using a private boat or via an unofficial tour boat.

St Nicholas Fortress boat
The boat to the fortress (on the right – the larger one, not the little dinghy!) waiting in the harbour

Boats depart Sibenik’s waterfront, close to Perivoj Robert Visanija and the Hotel Bellevue. Tickets for the tour can be purchased in a little office just opposite the boat – ask the guide or captain on board the boat to point it out to you if you can’t spot it. Alternatively, you can also purchase tickets ahead of time online on the St Anthony’s Channel website.

Tickets cost €22 for adults and €16 for children aged 7 to 18 years old. Children under the age of 7 go free.

Boats run several times a day (four times a day in peak season, July and August; two or three times a day outside of these months) from the end of April to mid-October.

St Nicholas Fortress tablet
The tablet for the tour, waiting to be used!

What you see and do on the St Nicholas’ Fortress Tour

Upon boarding the boat, you are given a tablet – with headphones – that’s loaded with an interactive tour of the fortress. Its a quirky addition to the tour that feels a little unusual at first, but makes sense once you actually step foot inside St Nicholas’ Fortress.

It’s a 30-minute boat ride over to Ljuljevac island on the comfortable boat; make sure you take in your surroundings and get your camera out as there are plenty of photo-worthy scenes. As you sail through St Anthony’s Channel, you’ll notice lush greenery on both sides; on the left, you might notice a path through the trees (and eventually a small beach) that you might want to return to another day. There’s also an intriguing tunnel set in the cliff walls – this was built by the Germans in WWII and continued to be used in the days of Yugoslavia. (It is no longer used, of course!)

Welcome to Sibenik sign
A Welcome to Sibenik sign
Tunnel in St Anthony's Channel
The tunnel – now unused – in St Anthony’s Channel

When you arrive at the Fortress and disembark on the pier, make sure you take some photos of the grand main entrance. It really is an impressive first experience of the Fortress, and when you arrive you truly understand the amazing way the structure has been built on this islet, right up to the water’s edge.

St Nicholas Fortress entrance
The entrance to St Nicholas’ Fortress
St Nicholas Fortress entrance
Looking back once inside

Once inside the Fortress, the guided tour begins. Our tour guide was a lively lady who spoke excellent English and was perfect at explaining the different elements of the complex. As mentioned, however, all visitors are also given a tablet with an interactive tour. There are different numbers displayed on walls throughout the Fortress at which you are supposed to play some additional audio or video on your tablet.

The same tablet also allows for some neat augmented reality elements – suddenly, some “guards” may appear right before your eyes! Walking through what would have been the ammunition storage room, you are also guided to play a game on the tablet, shooting cannonballs at attacking ships.

St Nicholas Fortress interior
St Nicholas Fortress interior
St Nicholas’ Fortress interior

Whilst the different interior components of the Fortress are interesting, once you get on the roof you can really get a sense for how well placed St Nicholas’ Fortress would have been to protect the town of Sibenik. These days, you can rest easy with some gorgeous views out to see, and the only boats to remark on are the numerous speedboats taking holidaymakers somewhere fun.

St Nicholas Fortress roof
A panoramic shot on the roof of the fortress

Is it worth visiting St Nicholas’ Fortress?

Absolutely, yes! All in all, this is a very interesting, informative and highly pleasant little trip.

We visited the fortress in the mid-afternoon in the peak summer season – late July – and although the trip was busy with a good number of visitors, it wasn’t overly crowded. I believe the full capacity of the boats/tour is 94 people, and we were probably not even a third of that number.

The boat trip over to the fortress was a very enjoyable start and end to the trip – a lovely way of experiencing St Anthony’s Channel and an opportunity to snap some gorgeous shots of Sibenik from the sea.

More info

You can find out more about visiting St Nicholas’ Fortress on the official St Anthony’s Channel website.