South wall

History

The village got its name after the Atlagić family who had a stately tower (kula) there. This family descended from the famed Muslim noble family from Livno in Bosnia. They distinguished themselves in the battle for Klis, the longest resisting Croatian fortress in Dalmatia, in 1537. Atlioglu is said to have killed the Croatian national hero and Captain of Klis Petar Kružić. Kula Atlagića was recorded as such at the end of the 16th century. Today it covers the site of three smaller medieval villages: Bojišta, Opatija and Tihlić. Two churches were recorded in Bojišta in 1449: St. Matthew (today St. Nicholas) and St. Peter.

Side entrance

History

The church was built in the 11th century. In the 13th century St. Peter's with its revenues was in the possession of the Order of the Knights Templar, who added a hospice nearby. Their monastery in Vrana, south of Benkovac, was the Templars' main center in medieval Croatia.

Apse

Description

St. Peter has characteristics of the Romanesque style. It has one nave with a square apse. The side walls are each articulated with two pilasters in the center and two at the corners, connected with elegant arcades. This type of facade decoration is found in early Romanesque buildings, especially bell towers in different parts of Europe, and is usually dated in the 11th century.

Facade

Sculpture

A number of stone fragments of sculptural decoration from St. Peter, with a typical interlaced design, were found on the site of the church. Some of the fragments bear an inscription with the name of a Croatian noble named Budimir. The names of the old villages Opatija and Bojišta are still preserved in the name of a well called Opatija, and fields nearby that are called Bojišta.

Sculpture

State

The church was demolished by the Serb militia during the Homeland War in Croatia, but it was reconstructed in 2000. A lot of stone sculptural fragments were found in its wall during the reconstruction, which indicate an even earlier building on its site. Besides the tower of St. Peter's in Morpolača, this is the most interesting monument of the Romanesque period in the Benkovac area.

Info

  • Ivo Petricioli: Spomenici romaničke i gotičke arhitekture u benkovačkom kraju
  • Nikola Jakšić: Benkovac i okolica u srednjem vijeku