Kaštel Stari

Kaštel Stari is one of the seven historic settlements forming the City of Kaštela, on Kaštela Bay between Split and Trogir. It takes its name from the fortified residence built on a sea reef by the Trogir nobleman Koriolan Cipico in 1476. A moat and drawbridge once separated the castle from the mainland; after a fire in 1493, it was rebuilt in Renaissance form with an arcaded courtyard and the family coat of arms. A planned settlement grew around it, preserving a distinctive right-angled street pattern. Within that grid stands the 17th-century Church of St Joseph, while the parish church of St John the Baptist contains five marble altars and the body of St Felicius. The local bathing choices include the pebble beaches of Đardin and the First and Second Embankments. A marked mountain path climbs to the 480-metre Malačka pass, while Kaštel Stari railway station and bus links towards Split and Trogir make the settlement accessible without a car. The Kaštela tourist office occupies Villa Nika on Kamberovo šetalište.

Kaštel Stari developed around Cipico’s 1476 castle, a combined residence and defensive structure built on a sea reef. The name Brce, used for the space before the castle, is linked to brvno, the timber drawbridge that once crossed its moat. Following a fire in 1493, the building acquired a Renaissance arcaded courtyard, while the surrounding settlement received defensive walls in 1507. Its right-angled street grid, also recorded on a 1704 plan, remains the clearest feature of the old quarter. The shore of Kaštela Bay and the immediate Kozjak foothills give the settlement both a maritime and a mountain-facing identity.