National Shrine of St Joseph

Croatia's national pilgrimage church on the hill of Dubovac

The shrine of St Joseph sits on the same hill as Dubovac Castle, just above the modern city. The current church was consecrated in 1975 and designated Croatia's national shrine of St Joseph two decades later. The interior is plain, modern and uplifting — the work of mid-century Croatian church-builders making something deliberately uncluttered.

The hilltop setting is the real reward: walk between the shrine and the castle and you have the whole bend of the Kupa and the four-river landscape below you.

things to do sight church pilgrimage
A story
Pope John Paul II personally elevated the church to the status of national shrine in 1987. Each 19 March — St Joseph's Day — thousands of Croatian Catholics walk the road up the hill in procession, in what is one of the country's bigger Marian-and-saints' pilgrimages.