History

The church of St. Mary is located on a hill above the Great Road of the Middle Ages (Via magna) in the part of Korlat that once was the medieval village Praskvić. If you go west from Benkovac via Kula Atlagića, you'll get to Korlat. When you see a well by the road, be ready to take the left turn toward the village graveyard. There's a crucifix for orientation. The church was built towards the end of the 17th or in the beginning of the 18th century, after the Turks had been driven out of Dalmatia. Not far away, on the locality called Sveta Nediljica (Holy Sunday) there used to stand an older, 11th century church of St. Mary, which was destroyed by the Ottoman Turks. The same happened to the Korlatović castle.

Facade

Apse

State

During the Homeland War in Croatia (1991-1995) the church was demolished with explosives, just like the St. Jerome close by. While St. Jerome was rased to the ground, parts of the walls of St. Mary are still standing. They have recently been protected from further decay.

Interior

Glagolitic inscription

Glagolitic alphabet

This church is an important evidence of a strong tradition of the Glagolitic writing in Benkovac and its area. There is a stone tablet built in the south wall of the church, above the entrance door. The tablet bears a Glagolithic inscription dated in 1751. It mentions a priest Marko and the parishioners of Korlat who built the church. Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest alphabet used by the Slavic peoples. It was created in the 9th century and the first Croatian texts written in Glagolitic characters date back to the 11th century.

Interior