Cathedral of St. Domnius Split

Cathedral of St. Domnius is one of the most monumental buildings in Split. Except for being an architectural masterpiece of art, the Cathedral is a real history book, featuring remains from the period of emperor Diocletian to today's era.

Table of Contents

1. Split Cathedral location
2. Split Cathedral ticket price
3. Split Cathedral and the Bell tower
4. Split Cathedral baptistery, crypt and treasury
5. Split Cathedral mass schedule
6. Split Cathedral opening hours

Split Cathedral location

The cathedral is located inside the Diocletian's Palace, in the old town, near the square called Split Peristyle. The Peristyle square is the central spot for all visitors of Split since it features the most beautiful architecture and the most preserved monuments. It is one of the most authentic attractions of Roman culture in the world.
It would be difficult to find a person which would not admire this amazing place.

There are five points of visitors interest related to the cathedral:

• The Cathedral church (former Diocletian's Mausoleum)
• Bell tower
• Cathedral baptistery (former Temple of Jupiter)
• Treasury (former Temple of Cybele)
• Crypt of St. Lucy

All of these buildings are located across the Peristyle, with a distance of a few meters between each.

Split Cathedral ticket price

There are 4 types of tickets for the Cathedral, depending on how many locations of the Cathedral complex you want to visit. Here is the list:

• Blue ticket (7 euro) includes 3 sites: The Cathedral, Crypt, Baptistery
• Green ticket (10 euro) includes 3 sites: The Cathedral, Bell tower, Treasury
• Red ticket (8 euro) includes 4 sites: The Cathedral, Crypt, Baptistery, Treasury
• Purple ticket (11 euro) includes all 5 sites: The Cathedral, Crypt, Baptistery, Treasury, Bell tower

I would recommend you to go for the last one since all of the places have something interesting to see.

Split Cathedral and the Bell tower

Like I said at the beginning, the Cathedral is a real small historical book.

It was built during the rule of Roman emperor Diocletian, who wanted to have his own mausoleum, which would become his grave.
The emperor expelled all the Christians, which were hiding on the nearby islands at that time. Some of them were killed and persecuted.

A few centuries after the death of Diocletian, the Christians returned back to Split. They moved out the sarcophagus of the emperor, and they put in the bones of martyr and bishop of Salona, St. Domnius, which is still today in the church. The building became the Cathedral soon.

There are many interesting architectural and painting pieces of art related to the building and its interior. I would point out the Cathedral door, which was built by Croatian artist Andrija Buvina. There are reliefs in the door depicting various events related to Christianity.

The bell tower was built later in Gothic style.
It may take some effort to reach the top of the bell tower, but once you are there, you will have a nice panoramic view of Split.

Split Cathedral baptistery, crypt and treasury

The Baptistery is the former temple of Jupiter. It was built at the end of the 2nd century by Diocletian.
When Christians returned back to Split, they converted the temple into a baptistery (in the 7th century). Inside the building, there are two anchorages of bishops of Split and the image of the coronation of the ancient Croatian king (It could be king Peter Kresimir or Demetrius Zvonimir).

The Cathedral treasury features many preserved sculptures and paintings which are related to the Cathedral's history.

Split Cathedral mass schedule

Period April 1 - May 30 working days 7:30, 19:00 / Sunday: 08:00, 09:30, 11:00, 19:00 Period June 1 - September 30 working days 7:30 / Sunday: 08:00, 09:30, 11:00, 19:00 Period October 1 - March 31 working days 7:30, 18:00 / Sunday: 08:00, 09:30, 11:00, 18:00

Split Cathedral opening hours

Summer opening hours (June 1 - October 30): 08:00 - 20:00 / Sunday: 12:00 - 18:00
Winter opening hours (November 1 - June 1): 09:00 - 17:00 / Sunday: 12:00 - 18:00
The ticket office is open until 30 minutes before closing.
The Cathedral is closed on religious and public holidays.