Krasno Marian Shrine

Nestled at 700 m altitude in the mountain village of Krasno on the very edge of Northern Velebit National Park, the Shrine of Our Lady of Krasno is one of the oldest and most beloved Marian pilgrimage sites in Croatia — a tradition dating from 1642 when a small wooden chapel was built to a miraculous image of the Virgin. The present handsome baroque-neoclassical church dates from 1913 and its interior is unexpectedly rich for such a remote village: a gilded main altar, a fresco cycle by Slavko Šohaj, and — the pilgrimage focus — the small 17th-century painting of the Madonna and Child crowned with a jewelled Habsburg silver crown. Around 15,000 pilgrims arrive on foot every 15 August (Assumption), some walking three days from the coast over the Velebit ridge. The shrine complex includes a lovely arcaded pilgrim courtyard, a wooden Way of the Cross climbing the hillside behind, and a small ethnographic museum. Outside pilgrimage season, Krasno is a peaceful, cool, tree-shaded stop en route to the National Park visitor centre 500 m up the road. Excellent home-cooked mountain food at the local konoba.