The Former Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is a parish today, was built in the 4th or 5th century as an early Christian basilica (the place of worship) and was later reconstructed in Romanesque style which has been dominating to this day. The magnificent new Cathedral was built as the centre of the diocese of Rab and was closed in 1828. It is a three-nave basilica which is 23 m long, with five pairs of pillars and six arches with a semi-circular apse as an extension of the main nave. The Church has retained early Christianity characteristics preserved inside and outside the church. It is a polygonal outer perimeter of the apse, the colonnade with several capitals (the early Christian sculpture of the 5th century), the column of the double church window and a few small fragments, decorations and floor mosaic remains under the shrine. In the said period, a cross-shaped baptistery with a baptismal font intended for immersion baptism was built in the proximity of the church, on the northern side, which was reconstructed in the early Middle Ages by adding a semi-circular apse. The original church was somewhat shorter that the present one and the remains of the large ancient water tank were found to the north of the church, indicating that the church was built on a former Roman site.