Za Križen (Following the Cross)
Night procession, 500 years unbroken
For five centuries, six villages have walked a 22 km night procession on Maundy Thursday without interruption.
On the night before Good Friday, six parishes of central Hvar (Jelsa, Pitve, Vrisnik, Svirče, Vrbanj and Vrboska) each send out a procession led by a cross-bearer. Through the night, the six processions circle between the villages in a 22-kilometre loop, each timed so that they never meet.
The cross-bearer, chosen years in advance and considered to hold a great family honour, carries the cross barefoot or in socks for eight hours, followed by singers performing the Gospin plač, the Lamentation of Mary, in an archaic local chant.
The procession has been held without interruption for around five hundred years, through wars, plagues and occupations. UNESCO inscribed Za Križen on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.
Held every year on the night of Maundy Thursday. Respectful visitors are welcome. Jelsa's main square is the most accessible point to witness the departure and return.
See it with someone from here.
Our private experiences weave the island’s heritage into real days out, with local guides who grew up beside it.