Top 9 Sights & Landmarks in Novi Vinodolski, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County

This is a birthplace and the home of Ban (Duke) Ivan Mazuranic, who also was a famous Croatian poet.

FRANKOPANSKI KASTEL, (castle of the Frankopans) belonged to the Frankopan family as early as 1288 and it preserved its original looks until 1761. Today we can see only the remains of the castle, which being devastated and having lost most of the value of the original building, close the main square of Novi from the west. On the newly-laid stone slabs of the square the the lay-out of the round tower or "rondel", as it was known among local people, was drawn in.

Only 205 m from Novi lies a small island of san Marino. In the past it was used as the fishing spot for tuna, but today there is only a Gothic church here, dedicated to St. marin, after which the island got its name. This church was most probably built on the foundations of a bigger old Croatian church, the remains of which were found during archeological excavations. A stone fragment from the 3rd or 4th c., discivered on the island, bears an inscriptions mentioning Roman empress Helena.

Built at the end of the 15th c., this is a Gothic chapel with vaultd ceiling. Quite recently, an effort has been launched to arrange a collection of sacral exhibits in this church. Among other exhibits, worth seing in that collection will be "The First Breviary of Novi" from 1495, "The Missal of Novi" from 1474 and "The Second Breviary of Novi" from 1494. Experts claim that this small church counts among town chapels, while the others count among suburban or country chapels.

The church of Blessed Virgin Mary on Osap is not far from harbour of Novi close to the remains of a Paulist monastery on the Glavica promontory. Church and the monastery were built at the time of the Frankopan princes, particulary Martin. He left his estate to the church of Blessed Virgin Mary in 1446. The monastery had its own port, populary known as "friars' port". On the sites of former monastery and church a cemetery grew, and it is still being used.

Above the old part of Novi Vinodolski, on a plateau of a stone rock which steeply descends towards the sea, rises the 36 m high bell tower and a cathedral of SS Philip and Jacob. On the site of bell tower a votive church of SS Fabian and Sebastian was built in 1511. The legend says that it was built in only 24 hours as a vow to God to protect them from plague. Woodcarved choir satlls from the second half of the 17th c. preserved in the cathedral count among the most valuable woodcarved works.

Glass Chapel - Exaltation of the Holy Cross is located at the village Omar in the area of Luka Krmpotska. This small chapel is made completely of metal construction, glass foreparts and the roof. It has a secessive style. At the beginning or the 20th century, the owner of this land, Peter Krpan known as Samac, erected this chapel, which was related by the local people.This complex presents a valuable example of the preserved architectural heritage or this area.

Some of the experts claim that Lopar was an old Roman fort, while the others assume that it was medieval town of the Frankopans. Regretfully, today there are only remains of walls as mute witnesses of the past. Although they do not say much, they must remember a lot. The ruins of the town of Lopar were well preserved until the beginning of the Second World War. The fort was a pentagonal buildings defended from the sea by two strong rectangular towers aabd by the two smaller ones from the north.