Sumartin

History

Sumartin was established at the time of Cretan War (1645–69), also known as the War of Candia, in 1646. when a group of Franciscan monks accompanied by a number of refugees reached the eastermost tip of the island of Brač by boats as they were fleeing from Makarska Riviera due to Ottoman raids. The newly formed village was established around the already existing abandoned small church of St. Martin which had been previously damaged but repaired by the refugees upon their arrival.

As the settlement was growing in size, Franciscan monks decided to stay and began receiving more lands encouraged by Venetian military officer Leonardo Foscolo who endowed them by special document which highlights their merits. Meanwhile, local population gained momentum in developing and expanding their settlement by cultivating surrounding fields and vineyards. The development of the settlement can be noticed in the church visitations which mention the following number of inhabitants of the settlement over the course of several decades: 104 in 1678; 200 in 1702, 300 in 1712, 352 in 1760 and finally 370 in 1764. Population continued to grow until 1784 when a plague stroke the village halving the number of inhabitants.

Meanwhile, in 1738 the monastic choir in Sinj declared monastic community of Sumartin as the real monastery. This act influenced the further development of the newly formed village and the desires to build a large enough building which would serve as a monastery were growing bigger. The construction finally commenced in 1747 as the foundation of Franciscan monastery was laid down by a famous croatian poet fra Andrija Kačić Miošić. Monastery was erected at the same place where the small medieval church of St. Martin was located. Since he was a monk himself, Andrija Kačić Miošić spent several years of his life in Sumartin (1745-1750).