The Procession Za Križen is recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage tradition of Hcar

Procession Za Krizen

It’s said that everyone has their cross to bear. Well, each year in the villages around Stari Grad Plain, six people quite literally have to bear a cross. The Procession Za Krizen is a tradition that has been going for more than 500 years. It translates as ‘Following the Cross’ and happens each year on the Thursday before Easter. It’s become one of the most important annual cultural events on Hvar island.

The backbone of the Procession is the Gospin plač (Lamentations of the Virgin Mary), octosyllabic Passion text from the 15th century sung in the form of music dialogue by chosen singers, kantaduri. – © Ministry of Culture

The cross bearer is at the head of the Procession, carrying the Cross covered with a black veil. – © Ministry of Culture

Processions move clockwise and finish with returning to their own parish churches. It is very important that they never meet; otherwise it would be a sign of great misfortune. – © Ministry of Culture

The cross-bearer is usually barefoot or in socks and sets off at 10 o’clock at night when it’s dark. – © Ministry of Culture

The backbone of the Procession is the Gospin plač (Lamentations of the Virgin Mary), octosyllabic Passion text from the 15th century sung in the form of music dialogue by chosen singers, kantaduri. – © Ministry of Culture

Six different towns from around Stari Grad Plain take part. Each town has a representative who carries a cross and they set off from their own community and walks a route through each of the other ones, for a total distance of about 22 kilometres.

The cross-bearer is usually barefoot or in socks and sets off at 10 o’clock at night when it’s dark. But they don’t walk alone. They are joined by other members of the town called ‘feralista’ who carry candles or oil lamps to light the way. Then there will be a general crowd of pilgrims who will also come for at least some of the walk, who will carry candles and sing songs.

As each procession group arrives in another town, they will stop at churches and chapels to pay their respects. All the groups walk clockwise and it’s extremely bad luck to cross paths with the procession from another town.

The whole route normally takes about 8 hours, meaning the walkers will arrive back at their home parish at around dawn. The cross-bearer is expected to run the last 100 metres to the parish church.

The Procession Za Krizen has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. The tradition began in 1658 but during the 1970s and 1980s, the towns had trouble finding people to take part and carry the cross. This led to a recruitment drive in the late 1980s that saw a large number of children sign up to be cross-bearers. There were so many that they were each assigned specific years to do the role and that list stretches for at least the next 25 years.

If you happen to be in Stari Grad during the Easter holidays, witnessing the Procession Za Krizen is a very special experience, although locals stress that it is an important spiritual event, not a tourist attraction. The towns that are involved are Jelsa, Pitve, Vrisnik, Svirče, Vrbanj and Vrbovska.

The Procession Za Krizen has also been placed on UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.