Blaca Hermitage

Glagolitic priests from the mainland, driven out by the Ottoman advance, settled in a cave in the Blaca gorge on Brac in 1551 and built outwards from it over the following centuries into a hermitage of church, living quarters, workshops, a mill and a school, with terraced fields cut into the slope around. The last resident, Niko Milicevic, was an astronomer who built an observatory here with instruments bought from Vienna and corresponded with observatories abroad; he died in 1963 and the buildings were left as they were, so the interiors still hold his telescopes, furniture, books and clocks.

What you actually see

• A hermitage grown from a cave - settled by Glagolitic priests in 1551.
• Church, mill, school and terraces - built out over centuries.
• An astronomer's observatory - instruments bought from Vienna.
• Rooms left as they were - after the last resident died in 1963.

When to go

April to October, when the hermitage is open. Half a day.

Honest expectations

There is no road to the door - the shortest approach is a half hour walk down a gorge and the same back up, in full sun. From the sea the climb is longer. Opening hours are limited and it closes in winter. Take water.

Nearby

Vidova Gora is east; Bol and Zlatni Rat are beyond it.