Attractions and Places To See around Općina Brela - Top 20

Beautiful stretch of coast with a lonely rock in the sea.

allegedly ...

Hiking in the Croatian Karst Mountains involves steep inclines. The French Street, above Baska Voda, is a nice highlight. After the ascent, the view from the steep slopes is simply enchanting. 🤩

Here today the circular hiking trail starts

It's just so beautiful here! The contrast to the mountains and the sea.. just maga👍👍👍👍👍😊😊😊😊so I was speechless when I saw it for the first time. I can recommend it to everybody!!! 😊😊😊😊

Church of St. Nikole is located at an altitude of 572 m above sea level, on the Prirovac hill. It is assumed that it was made in pre-Turkish times between 1200-1500. It was first mentioned by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenet in his work "De administrando imperio" - "On the administration of the empire". It is the oldest church in Brela. It was made with a single nave in the Gothic style. The church nave is 11.50 m long and 5.30 m wide. It is made of stone, irregularly hewn blocks covered with plaster. In the eastern part of the church, there is a presbytery, i.e. a niche measuring 1.30 x 2.70 m, where there is an altar, in front of which there is supposedly a priest's grave. The interior is vaulted with a Gothic broken vault under which a simple stone cornice flows, and its walls are divided by blind arcades. Two stone crosses with equal arms are preserved on the inner rocks, signs of the consecration of the church, which took place on May 26 of an unknown year. In 1933, the people of Brel, under the leadership of pastor Soljanić, carried out the repair of the cemetery and the church "from the ground up", but unfortunately inexpertly. From 1952 to 1990, the Yugoslav army did not allow anyone to approach the church, so even St. Mass. Since then, the church was in a very neglected state. Incentive for the restoration of the Church of St. Nikole started from Dr. Darko Šošić in 1998. When they reached the church, they found it in a decaying state. The restoration was carried out in cooperation with conservators. The church was completely renovated. New windows and a new front door were installed. Water was brought from the spring from Bukovačka draga at a distance of 1000 m, which reaches the church by free fall. The Croatian army greatly helped in the restoration of the church. In less than two years, the restoration of the church was brought to an end. A project estimated at around 500,000 kuna was renovated for only 162,000 kuna. After the renovation, the bell was returned to the church, on which the dedication from 1933 was written. On May 28, 2000, the church was ceremoniously blessed. Nada Marušić

There is a legend among the people about the great love of a girl and a young man who were petrified by evil fate on Nevista. Nevista's rock is also a pass, once the only link between Primorje and Zabiokovlje, and a beautiful viewpoint. According to legend, a girl somewhere "from above", probably from Dalmatian Zagora, was supposed to get married in Primorje. The mother was against that love, and above all against her daughter marrying someone the family did not choose. Maybe it was a problem that the young man is from Primorac, that is, from a poor area!? Be that as it may, the mother sent her daughter off with the words: When she saw the sea, she must have been petrified! Despite these terrible words, the wedding procession set off, led by the groom and the bride on horseback, and not realizing the power of their mother's curse. However, when the merry company reached the top of the hill above Brel, the curse came true. Evidence of this is rocks in the shape of horses with newlyweds, cakes and water barrels made of clay. If you look carefully, you can see the bride's veil, which at that moment the wind took off her head, as well as the whole procession of the wedding guests who followed them, and today it is a little harder to see them if you don't look for them specifically, because the pine tree has been for decades quite grown up. (text written by Vanja Sokol)

In addition to urban development in Dalmatian cities and the construction of numerous fortresses and forts throughout Dalmatia, during the French administration (1806 - 1813) a whole series of cart roads from Knin to Dubrovnik were built. Before the arrival of the French in Dalmatia, there were almost no roads. Recent research, based on memoirs and official correspondence of the time, indicates that General (later Marshal) Auguste Marmont, as the supreme military commander of the French army in Dalmatia, started building roads as soon as the opportunity arose. It was necessary to lay out good roadways that would enable the rapid movement of troops, especially artillery and chambers. In addition to French engineering experts, local people also worked on the design and supervision of the works. Among the difficult sections, the ones in Zabiokovlje were also mentioned, where the road passes through the side of the hill, and high retaining walls had to be built. Some sections (such as the one from Cetina to Aržan) were built exclusively by peasants. Marmont notes that the road along the coast on the route Split - Omiš - Makarska could not be built because it was within the range of cannons from enemy ships. That's why he decided to go inland, from the bridge near Trilje, through Zabiokovlje and the Turia pass to Vrgorac and on to the Neretva. The road that the French built in a very short time along the entire length of Dalmatia - from Obrovac to Boka Kotor - is known as Napoleon's Road or the French Road. Part of that Napoleon's road, as the locals still call it, was conceived on the territory of today's Brela municipality. In that part, namely, the road was supposed to connect the Makarska coast with the French road that passed through Zabiokovlje, via the Nevista and Poletnica passes (Brela Gornja), along the Grabovac - Zagvozd - Župa - Rašćani route. Napoleon's road on the mentioned route was built in 1808. It was known what that road meant, therefore all people capable of working were listed and could only be freed from that work if they sent a replacement. They worked mostly for free, for food and drink. A. Ujević wrote about this: "This work on the construction of the road through the Imotski Krajina was difficult and painful, especially the one between Zagvozd and Župa, through the desolate and rocky Turia, exposed to wind and snow, heat and drought, wolf and hajduka. However, the French did not give up. They built a road through that waterless and inaccessible desert. For an eternal memory, a large commemorative plaque was carved into the stone cliff at the top of Turia." However, the inscription on that commemorative plaque, as well as on all the others except for one that referred to the construction of the Šibenik - Trogir section, was stamped by the Austrians after 1815, after Dalmatia became an Austrian province. With the withdrawal of the French army, part of the road in the area of today's Brela municipality was not completed, but we can see the valuable remains of the dry stone walls of that road under Nevisto and under Poletnica. Today they are a valuable topic for mountaineers and alpinists.