Archaeological Park of Fulfinum Mirine

The location of the archaeological site Fulfinum – Mirine in Omišalj on island of Krk, Croatia, is one of the most special and most beautiful places on the island, both because of the value and significance of the ancient and early Christian remains, but as well because of the harmony ambient and beauty of the entire complex.

Located in a secluded area, in the forest and sea-surrounded area of ​​the Sepen bay near Omišalj, but also its neighboring industrial and energy plants, the preserved and protected zone of Fulfinum-Mirine archaeological site is now living a new life, both the one that has been dictated by the pace of research for some time by archaeologists who continue to conduct research there, but also programs aimed at a better public presentation of the local sites, and the one that brings with it tourism, the main and dominant economic sector on the island of Krk.

The ancient Roman city of Fulfinum was founded at the beginning of the 1st century. It was a military settlement, a refuge for exhausted Roman war veterans. Although the research of this city is not nearly complete, it can now be said that Fulfinum was conceived as a city of the highest civilizational achievements. Like every other Roman city, Fulfinum had a regular grid of streets, a forum, a water supply system and all urban facilities – a temple, city villas, residential quarters, public buildings, thermal baths, a market, a port, spacious warehouses, a necropolis.

On the outskirts of the city, in the middle of the 5th century, the church of Mirine was built. It is a single-nave, longitudinal basilica whose basic form is a Latin cross.

The basilica has been preserved up to the height of the roof and is the only preserved sacral object of this type not only on the island of Krk, but also on the entire Croatian coast.

With this church on the ruins of the Roman city of Fulfinum, a new Christian city began to emerge, but its secrets have yet to be discovered by experts. Local tradition connects the church with the Glagolitic Benedictine Abbey of St. Nicholas, abandoned in the 15th century and moved closer to Omišalj. The sanctuary itself is simple in form, but extremely interesting because of the findings that have survived all the changes of time. During the cleaning of the basilica's vestibule, under a huge amount of stone, a very rare treasure of the complex was found - an intact sarcophagus. This sarcophagus, with its original lid, has been in its place since it was placed, buried under the church. Without desecrating the grave, a micro camera revealed that there were two deceased inside.

In 2017, ivory Mirin Comb was found on the site of an ancient villa – a valuable and rare liturgical object dating back to the early 5th century, and one of only five such artifacts found in the world to date.