Župe otoka Šolte

The Parish of Grohote is the oldest on the island of Šolta. The area was inhabited by the ancient Illyrians, and most archaeological remains date from the period of Roman rule. Christianity spread here early, as evidenced by an early Christian basilica from the 5th or 6th century whose floor was decorated with a mosaic similar to those in the basilicas of Salona. In front of the presbytery, an inscription with the name Honorius — most likely the church's benefactor — was found on the mosaic. Early Christian graves were also discovered in the basilica.

The basilica was most probably burned in the 13th century, as confirmed by stones in certain places beginning to turn to lime. According to Thomas the Archdeacon, it was burned by pirates from Omiš in 1241. In the 14th century a new Church of Saint Stephen was built; it was demolished in 1913 to make way for the present, larger church.

From the very beginning until the end of the 14th century there was probably only one parish on Šolta, with one parish priest and several assistant priests serving the other villages. The Parish of Grohote is first mentioned in 1483; by 1495 it is recorded as the Parish of Saint Stephen. At that time Donje Selo and Gornje Selo were part of it; they separated between 1579 and 1598. Around the same period the Parish of Saint Mary in Bori or Stomorija is also mentioned, preserving the memory of a Benedictine monastery and the Church of Our Lady.

The parish house in Grohote was built in 1861 during the pastorate of Fr. Mijo Vučković, and has been repaired on several occasions.

In 1938 the parish had 1,400 souls; in 2001 there were 639.

Parish registers: Registers of births (1842–1864) and deaths (1842–1873) are held at the State Archives in Split (DAS). Registers of births, marriages and deaths (1658–1793); births (1793–1814 and 1825–1842); marriages (1825–1857, two volumes); and deaths (1793–1842, two volumes) are held at the State Archives in Zagreb (DAZ).

The parish is located in the eastern part of the island. In addition to the largest and oldest settlement of Gornje Selo, it also includes Stomorska, a coastal village. Near Gornje Selo — also known as Gornje Polje — stood an old Benedictine monastery with the Church of Saint Mary, after which the site was named Stomorija. This monastery is documented from 1260 to 1452, when it was abandoned and its assets passed to the archdeacon of Split Cathedral. In 1776 a new church was built on the site of the old monastery; the people call it Our Lady in the Pines, and a cemetery is located beside it.

The Parish of Gornje Selo is first mentioned in 1495 under the name "Parish of Saint Mary in Gornje Selo". During the 17th century this title was changed to the Parish of Saint John the Baptist.

The parish retained independent status until the mid-19th century, when the Austrian government's Organic Decree of 1849 reduced it, along with the other Šolta parishes, to an exposed chaplaincy subject to the Parish of Grohote.

The parish house was built of dressed stone in the late 19th century.

In 1938 the parish had 1,250 souls; in 2001 there were 423.

Parish registers: Registers of births (1793–1814 and 1825–1842), births/marriages/deaths (1825–1831) and marriages (1825–1857) are held at the State Archives in Zagreb (DAZ). Death registers (1825–1907) are held at the State Archives in Split (DAS). The status animarum from 1876 is held at the parish office. The oldest surviving registers, written in Bosančica script, date from 1636.

The Parish of Donje Selo is located on the northwestern side of the island. The area has been inhabited since prehistory, as indicated by the fortified hilltop Gradina. Evidence of Roman-era settlement includes Roman pottery, foundations of farm buildings, vaulted family tombs, and a grave containing a child's skeleton, glass bottles and a clay oil lamp. Christianity was widespread on the whole island before the arrival of the Croats, as confirmed by the foundations of a 6th-century early Christian basilica near the Church of Saint Helena and an early Christian sarcophagus reused as an altar in the Church of Saint Martin in the 14th century.

After the sack of Salona in 614, many Salonitan Christians settled on Šolta, significantly increasing the number of Christians on the island. They were later joined by Croatian settlers who accepted Christianity during the 9th century. A final wave of Croatian immigrants arrived during the Ottoman conquests of the 15th to 17th centuries.

Until the end of the 14th century the whole of Šolta was one parish. By the late 15th century the 1495 register of Split Archdiocese parishes lists two parishes: Grohote and Gornje Selo, with the south-island settlements of Donje Selo, Srednje Selo and Grohote forming one Parish of Saint Stephen centred in Grohote. Towards the end of the 16th century Donje Selo and Srednje Selo separated to form their own parish, between 1579 and 1598. The 1603 visitation report of apostolic visitor Mihovil Priuli records that Fr. Stjepan de Floris had been parish priest in Donje Selo for five years, i.e. since 1598.

By the mid-19th century Donje Selo had 380 inhabitants. The Organic Decree of 1849 reduced all Šolta parishes to exposed chaplaincies subject to Grohote. The two-storey parish house was built of dressed stone in 1904.

In 1938 the parish had 850 inhabitants; in 2001 there were 158.

Parish registers: Registers of births (1838–1871) and deaths (1841–1885) are held at the State Archives in Split (DAS). Registers of births (1825–1838), marriages (1851–1857) and deaths (1759–1861) are held at the State Archives in Zagreb (DAZ). Three status animarum from 1828, 1868 and 1875 are held at the parish office.

Srednje Selo was founded in the 15th century and first mentioned in 1446 under the Italian name "de Villa de medio". The site originally held stables belonging to the inhabitants of Grohote, and Srednje Selo was the last of the old Šolta villages to develop. It takes its name from its position between Grohote and Donje Selo, and lies beside a small field at the foot of Strličina hill.

During the 15th century Srednje Selo belonged to the Parish of Saint Stephen in Grohote. This remained the case until nearly the end of the 16th century — in 1579 it is still explicitly stated that the three south-island villages formed one parish. According to the 1603 visitation report, Grohote was a separate parish while Srednje Selo and Donje Selo formed another. The parish became independent in 1726 and remained so until the mid-19th century. The Organic Decree of 1849 reduced it to an exposed chaplaincy subject to Grohote. Before World War II it regained independent parish status. The parish is served by the priest from Donje Selo.

The two-storey parish house was built of dressed stone in 1913, replacing the old demolished house.

The parish had 220 souls in 1840, 500 in 1908, 350 in 1925, 324 in 1938, and 134 in 2001.

Parish registers: Registers of births, marriages and deaths (1726–1825, two volumes) are held at the parish office. Registers of births (1825–1883) and deaths (1825–1894) are held at the State Archives in Split (DAS). The marriage register (1825–1857) is held at the State Archives in Zagreb (DAZ).

Maslinica is the youngest parish on the island of Šolta. The settlement grew in the early 18th century around the castle of the noble Marchi family, who had moved to Split from Venice. In 1703 the Marchi brothers requested permission from the Venetian provveditore to found a settlement and build a castle with a tower for defence against pirates. They built a fortified rectangular castle with a tall tower at its south-eastern corner and a central courtyard, then brought tenant farmers from the Dalmatian hinterland and Herzegovina to work their agricultural estate.

In 1706 they built the small Church of Saint Nicholas on a hill south of the harbour and established a cemetery around it. When the male line of the Marchi family died out, their estate passed by will in 1731 through the female line to the Martinis family, and the family has since been known as Martinis-Marchi.

Maslinica was initially a chaplaincy with its own resident priest. The Organic Decree of 1849 left it as an exposed chaplaincy of the Parish of Donje Selo. Before World War II it was declared an independent parish, served by the priest from Donje Selo. There is no parish house.

In 1938 the parish had 200 souls; in 2001 there were 161.

Parish registers: Registers of births, marriages and deaths (1726–1819) are held at the parish office. Registers of births, marriages and deaths (1816–1859) are held at the State Archives in Zagreb (DAZ).