Šibenik, Croatia

Just down the road from Krka National Park, the guided tour took us to the small historical town of Sibenik, to visit the Cathedral of St. James. The construction of the basilica began at the start of the 15th century and after worked on by many architects was completed in the 16th century and is still the most important architectural monument in all of Croatia. Along the outside you will see the detailed face carvings of individual people, residents of the city at the time of construction, which was a very unique attribute to the church. In the back entrance there is a large traditional basin that is still used for baptisms into Catholicism. It was placed at the back of the church because at the time of creation it was completely forbidden for anyone that had not been baptized before entering the holy Cathedral. Another unique piece of the church is that it lacks a bell tower, a very rare occurrence for Cathedrals built in that era, but the space and structural design did not allow it. Instead, there is now an electronic recording of the bells that plays on the hour, in place of an actual bell tower.