Mestrovic Mausoleum, Otavice

Ivan Mestrovic was born at Vrpolje and grew up at Otavice in the Dalmatian hinterland, and between 1926 and 1931 he built a mausoleum for his family on the hill above the village: a cube of pale local stone under a low dome, austere outside, with bronze doors he carved himself and reliefs of the evangelists inside. His parents, his brother and later he himself were buried there - he died in South Bend, Indiana in 1962 and was brought back. The building was damaged and looted during the war of the 1990s and has been repaired. It stands alone on the hill above a sparsely populated village.

What you actually see

• A mausoleum the sculptor built himself - between 1926 and 1931.
• Bronze doors he carved - and evangelist reliefs inside.
• His own grave - he died in Indiana in 1962 and was returned here.
• Damage from the 1990s - repaired since the war.

When to go

April to October, when it is opened. Two hours.

Honest expectations

Opening is seasonal and irregular; the interior is often locked. The hinterland here was depopulated after the war and services are minimal. The last stretch is a track and a climb. There is no shade.

Nearby

Drnis is west; Knin and its fortress are north.