The area of Marjan Forest Park was once home to numerous churches. Although they were not considered grand architectural works, these churches bore witness to Marjan's past, and their locations were linked to well-known Marjan pilgrimages. These typical early Christian single-nave churches, most of which have been demolished over time, were usually situated at crossroads and served as landmarks. Some have been restored, while others are known only from historical sources. Most of these churches were or are located on the southern side of Marjan. Some contain valuable monuments, while others have disappeared or have been relocated to different institutions.
The Church of St. John the Evangelist is the only early Christian church on Marjan that has been excavated. Father Luka Jelić performed the first archaeological excavations in 1890, from which a floor plan drawing has been preserved. This single-nave basilica was located east of Bambina glavica, near the former Veli potok. The lintel with an inscription (two fragments) and the lintel with crosses are kept in the Archaeological Museum in Split.
A church dedicated to St. Michael was likely located at the top of Bambina glavica. A fragment of the church's rood screen, dating from the period between 9th and 11th century, is also kept in the Archaeological Museum in Split.
CHURCH OF ST. BENEDICT
This church was located in the Bene bay, which was named after it. It is mentioned in historical sources as early as 1362. Its buried and forgotten remains were discovered during archaeological excavations in 2002, including a fragment of the altar pillar (stipes). Based on these remains, the church was dated to the late 11th or early 12th century.
CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS
This early Romanesque church was built by the Split citizen Rako and his wife Elizabeta in 1219. Next to it was a hermitage that was demolished in 1922 during the construction of roads and viewpoints on Marjan. The church was last renovated in 1990, when a commemorative plaque that had previously adorned the exterior wall was moved inside, and a new plaque with corrected information was placed next to the church. The church facade features a Gothic-Renaissance statue of Christ, symbolizing the Eucharist with depictions of wheat and grapes.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF BETHLEHEM
This church is one of the few in Croatia dedicated to the Nativity of Christ, and it was probably built before 1500, period when hermit life flourished on Marjan. The stone altar depicts the Nativity scene, with St. Jerome on the left and St. John the Baptist on the right. Above them, in a lunette, is a depiction of the Crucifixion.
A grand staircase was added during a renovation that took place between 1927 and 1928. An early midnight Mass held is held here every Christmas Eve at 4 PM, which makes this church unique.
CHURCH OF ST. JEROME
Although the exact construction date of this church is unknown, it was certainly completed by 1480, the year Andrija Aleši built and signed the altar. However, there is still no information on what was on the site before. The altar centerpiece shows St. Jerome in a cave, with St. John the Baptist on the left and St. Anthony the Abbot on the right. Above the cornice in the lunette is a depiction of the Lamentation. Impressive paintings of hell once adorned the walls but were removed in 1932 and replaced with new ones of the same subject. The church also served as a burial site, as evidenced by the tombstones, including one belonging to the hermit Jerolim Nadal from 1616. Above the courtyard gate is a relief of St. John the Evangelist, a reworked Roman monument that may have originally stood in the Church of St. John the Evangelist east of Bambina glavica.
ORATORY OF ST. CYRIACUS
Tradition associates this site with St. Jerome, a hermit and church writer revered as the patron saint of the Dalmatians. Hermits lived in this eremitage, and they were seen as holy men by the old citizens of Split, which is why it is called šantine, or holy rocks. The interior of the cave bears no inscriptions except for the year 1896, carved into the floor near the window.
CHURCH OF ST. GEORGE
This church was built at the beginning of the 9th century, alongside the ruins of what is believed to have been Diana's temple, with some parts of the temple incorporated into the church. It was restored following archaeological research in 1972–1973 and again in 1996, when a new altar, a replica, was consecrated.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE SEVEN SORROWS
Mentioned as early as 1362 (Sancte Maria de Merglano), and later as S. Maria Pietatis, this church is located at a crossroads sheltered by Bambina glavica, with one of the paths leading to the Church of St. Jerome. The church contains parts from the 15th century. On the altar is a stone relief of the Lamentation, dating from around 1500, depicting the Virgin Mary holding the body of Christ, with angels holding torches on either side, and a depiction of Calvary in the background. Initially attributed to Juraj Dalmatinac and later to Andrija Aleši, the church was once surrounded by a dry-stone wall that collapsed due to pine roots and heavy rain; the pines were cut down, and the wall was replaced with a concrete one. Unique to this small church are the messages written on its walls and the votive items left inside. Today, the church celebrates the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14 and Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS
In 1939, Ivan Meštrović and his brother Petar bought the Capogrosso-Kavanjin castle's land with the intention of repurposing it. In the western part of the complex, Ivan Meštrović built the “main hall”—today's Church of the Holy Cross. It was completed in 1953, and the following year, 28 wooden reliefs depicting scenes from the life of Jesus and a large crucifix were placed inside. A large porch on the western side of the church contains the sculpture the Creator of the Apocalypse.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL
The Split family Capogrosso built a castle on the southern side of Marjan around 1513, which also included the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel. In 1940, Ivan Meštrović began restoring it and installed four columns with capitals containing children's heads.
CHURCH OF ST. STEPHEN
A Benedictine church and the old Monastery of St. Stephen were in ruins, so in 1814, the rector of the Archbishop's Seminary, Nikola Didoš, had the present church built on this site. Six antique columns, likely transferred from Diocletian's Palace, were placed in the new church. The altar of St. Anne was erected by the de Caris family for the Church of St. Mary de Taurello and moved to the Church of St. Stephen in 1819. It featured a polyptych with an image of the Virgin and Child, saints, a Nativity scene, and an imago pietatis. In the center of the church is the tombstone of Split canon Ivan Krstitelj Augubio, bearing his family crest from 1490.
BENEDICTINE ABBEY OF ST. STEPHEN
This was one of the largest and most significant Benedictine abbeys on the eastern Adriatic coast. It is first mentioned in a deed of donation by Deacon Peter around 1020. The monastery was founded and built by the citizens of Split, who had the right to participate in the election of the abbot until the abbey was dissolved in 1442.
The most notable monk of the monastery was the last Croatian king, Stjepan II Trpimirović. The architectural complex of the monastery consisted of the church, cloister, and residential buildings. The furnishings included a gable depicting Christ on the throne, a relief of a winged lion holding a man in its front paws, and a sculpture of St. Stephen the Protomartyr from 1355.
