| Church, ruined church, chapel, temple,Monastery,Cemetery, crypt, funerary monument,Bell tower, campanile |
| Located on the western bank of the Krka about 10km north of Roški slap (and accessible via minor road from Kistanje), the Monastery of the Archangel Michael is arguably the best known of Croatia’s handful of Orthodox monasteries. It was founded in 1345 thanks to an endowment by Princess Jelena, a sister of the Serbian Tsar Dušan who married a Croatian prince of the Šubić family. Famous for its Romanesque bell tower and arcaded cloister, the monastery is also known for its early-Christian catacombs – although they are not always open to visitors.
Roughly opposite the monastery is another of the Nelipić cliff-top fortresses, Bogočin.
North of the monastery lies the most dramatic stretch of the river, a narrow winding canyon with sheer sides. Perched on cliffs on either side of the canyon are two of the park’s most dramatic fortresses, Nečven to the east, and Trošenj immediately opposite to the west. Trošenj once served as the power base of the Croatian Šubić family, although the Ottomans subsequently turned it into a gaol. It was notorious as a place of execution - throwing offenders from high windows being the favoured form of capital punishment. |