Description

The church of St. John in Medviša stands in the village graveyard. Medviša is a rather widespread village, but you will have no difficulty in finding the site of the church because there's a signpost that you have to follow a short distance uphill from the main road Obrovac-Knin. Before you investigate the church itself, you can enjoy the view on the fields below for a minute. The church is a rather rustic, single nave building covered with stone slabs. The apse has a rectangular ground plan and it's vaulted. The walls are plain, without any decoration. The church has no openings in the west facade, because it directly faces the rock. There is an entrance from the south. One interesting feature of the west portion of the church is an unusually tall "preslica" type belfry, designed for a single bell. The lintel above the door bears an embossed cross in a circle.

Belfry

Apse

History

Medviša was in the Roman period the site of the settlement Hadra. Different small objects, as well as the remains of Roman thermae and the road that lead to Clambetae, another Roman settlement - today Cvijina gradina near Obrovac. In the graveyard around the church there are about 40 tombstones, some of which are decorated with crosses. The church was built in the 13th or 14th century.

South side

Info

  • Hrvatska likovna enciklopedija

Apse

Interior

Entrance