A Church Like No Other in Istria
Most of what I show people in Pula is Roman — the Arena, the forum, columns that have been standing for two thousand years. Vodnjan is a twenty-minute drive away and it's none of that. It's a quiet hill town with cobbled streets, a handful of cafes, and a parish church that holds one of the strangest collections you'll find anywhere in Croatia: a room of mummified saints, on public display, in glass cases.
I'm upfront about this with anyone who asks: it's not every town has human remains as its main attraction, and it's not for everyone. Some people walk in and are fascinated for an hour. Others get halfway round and need to step outside. Both reactions are normal. I'd rather tell you that now than have you find out standing in front of a case.
What You're Actually Looking At
The church is St Blaise's (Sv. Blaž), and the collection built up over centuries as relics were gathered and kept there, including the remains of several saints that mummified naturally rather than through any deliberate embalming — which is part of what makes them scientifically interesting as well as unsettling. You'll see bodies, hands, skulls, in varying states of preservation, laid out with the kind of plain, matter-of-fact Catholic reverence that's very different from how a museum would stage the same thing. There's no dramatic lighting, no taxidermy-style display cases built for effect. It feels like what it is: a church that's been doing this a long time and doesn't see the need to dress it up.
I won't give you an exact number of what's inside or promise you'll see any particular figure, because what's on display can change and I'd rather you see it fresh than hold you to a figure I read somewhere once. What I can tell you is that it's a genuine, serious collection, not a tourist gimmick built for Instagram — even though plenty of people now visit it for exactly that reason.
Is It Worth the Trip?
Honestly — yes, if you're the kind of traveler who likes seeing something you won't see anywhere else. Istria has a lot of Roman ruins, a lot of vineyards, a lot of beautiful coastline, and all of that is wonderful, but it starts to blur together after a few days. Vodnjan doesn't blur. People remember it years later, for better or worse.
If you're traveling with kids, or you already know you're squeamish, skip it — there's no shame in that, and Vodnjan has plenty else going on: a nice old town, a few good little konobas for lunch, local olive oil producers worth a stop. You can have a perfectly good afternoon there without going anywhere near the relics.
Practical Notes
The church sits right in the old town, easy enough to find on foot once you're parked. I always tell people: check the current opening hours locally before you go — through the tourist office, the church itself, or your accommodation — because they shift with the season and I'd rather not send you on a dead-end trip. There's usually a small donation or entrance fee for the relic room specifically, separate from the church itself, but again, confirm that on the day rather than taking my word for a number.
How It Fits Into a Day
I don't run tours out to Vodnjan myself — my own walks stay in Pula, covering its Roman and Austro-Hungarian layers, which is a full morning on its own. But if you've got a rental car and a free afternoon, Vodnjan makes a genuinely different second stop: fifteen minutes from the Arena, completely different mood. Pair it with lunch in town and maybe a stop at one of the olive oil estates nearby, and you've got a half-day that doesn't look like anything else you did in Istria.
It's one of those places I recommend selectively. If someone tells me they want "something different," this is usually what I mention. If someone tells me they're there for beaches and wine, I leave it out. Know which traveler you are before you go.