The Church of St. Mary of the Assumption

The Church of St. Mary of the Assumption dominates the old town center of Vrbnik from its highest point, featuring a single-nave parish church. It is first mentioned in 1325 in the statutes of the Brotherhood of St. John the Baptist. The church has been remodeled and expanded several times. In the 16th century, a new church was likely built on the site of an older structure, oriented north-south. The current façade dates from the 19th century. In the sanctuary, there is a wooden altar in the center, backed by a large marble altar created by the sculptor Ivan Rendić.

The large gilded wooden altarpiece (currently undergoing restoration) is the work of an unknown master from the 16th century, depicting the Assumption of Mary into heaven, with statues of St. Andrew, St. Peter, St. Jerome, St. John the Baptist, St. Nicholas, St. Francis, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Sebastian, St. Lawrence, St. Stephen, the Virgin Mary, the Archangel Gabriel, and the risen Christ in the center.

The coffered ceiling, created by the Vrbnik painter Ivan Volarić "Piturić" in 1929, depicts the Assumption of Mary, modeled after Titian's "Assunta." The church contains five side altars dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Joseph, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of Lourdes, and the Holy Cross.

In the oldest part of the church, there is a Gothic chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary, traditionally believed to have been commissioned by Ivan VII. Frankopan. The altar features a wooden panel acquired in Venice in 1477, depicting the Virgin Mary with Child presenting a rosary to St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena. The medallions illustrate the 15 Mysteries of the Rosary. Below, kneeling are the donors Ivan VII. Frankopan, his wife Elizabeth, and their children Nikola and Katarina.