Split is Croatia's second city and the gateway to the Dalmatian coast — a Roman-era settlement whose emperor Diocletian built his retirement palace directly into what is now the city centre, and whose 20th-century Yugoslav industrial expansion left a specific dereliction in the factories and military complexes of the surrounding Split-Dalmatia county. The Children's Maritime Military Health Resort in Krvavica — a brutalist JNA holiday complex for soldiers' children — is one of the finest derelict Yugoslav-era buildings in the region. The abandoned industrial belt along the Split waterfront, the derelict villas of the Kaštela and Trogir corridors and the island military bunkers within ferry range of Split create one of the most varied derelict landscapes of any Croatian city. Discover the 5 best abandoned places in Split, selected from our Croatia Urbex Map — 400+ verified GPS locations.
Why Split Has an Exceptional Derelict Heritage
Split's abandonment reflects both the 1991 war disruption and the specific Yugoslav industrial model — state-owned enterprises, JNA complexes and workers' resorts built across the Split-Dalmatia region during the socialist era and progressively abandoned after independence. The Dalmatian stone construction and the extraordinary landscape of the Mosor mountain and the Adriatic behind every ruin adds visual context unavailable elsewhere.
1. Children's Maritime Military Health Resort – Krvavica, Split-Dalmatia — Brutalist JNA Holiday Complex, Protected Croatian Modernist Architecture, Between Split and Dubrovnik (Known Location)
The Children's Maritime Military Health Resort in Krvavica — documented in international urbex publications as "one of the highlights between Split and Dubrovnik" — is a Yugoslav-era brutalist complex built for the children of JNA soldiers, providing maritime health treatments on the Dalmatian coast. The Split department of the Croatian Ministry of Culture placed the resort on a register for protected places due to its significance to Croatian modernist architecture. The extraordinary brutalist design, the Dalmatian coastal setting and the specific emotional weight of a building purpose-built for children's healthcare create an urbex experience of unusual depth.
🔗 Source: Kathmandu and Beyond – Abandoned Hotels in the Balkans
2. Derelict Yugoslav Industrial Complex – Split Waterfront Zone — State-Enterprise Manufacturing, Concrete Brutalist Construction, Coastal Industrial Setting (Known Location)
Split's Yugoslav-era industrial waterfront — built during the socialist expansion of the 1950s–70s to service the Dalmatian shipbuilding and chemical industries — contains significant derelict industrial infrastructure in the port zone between the city centre and the Kaštela municipality. The specific Yugoslav modernist industrial aesthetic — concrete construction, functionalist design, the Adriatic harbour backdrop — creates a coastal industrial dereliction experience specific to Split. Several buildings in the Split port zone are in institutional or ownership limbo between privatisation processes that have stalled.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Abandoned Places in Croatia →
3. Abandoned Kaštela Villa – Kaštela Riviera, Split Area — Inter-War or Socialist-Era Residence, Dalmatian Stone Construction, Coastal Cypress Garden, Adriatic Setting
The Kaštela Riviera — the string of seven fortified medieval towns along the bay north of Split between the city and Trogir — contains numerous inter-war and early socialist-era villas in various states of dereliction: stone-built residences with the specific Dalmatian coastal garden typology (cypress allée, fig trees, the sea terrace) that were abandoned in the post-war property nationalisation or in the 1991 war disruption. The combination of the Kaštela medieval heritage context, the Dalmatian stone construction and the bay views creates a villa dereliction experience of unusual contextual richness. All GPS coordinates in our Croatia Urbex Map.
4. Island JNA Bunker Complex – Šolta or Brač, Central Dalmatia — Cold War Coastal Defence Infrastructure, Concrete Bunker Network, Pine Forest Setting, Ferry from Split (Carte Urbex Exclusive)
The islands within ferry distance of Split — Šolta, Brač, Hvar — were heavily militarised by the Yugoslav People's Army during the Cold War period, with coastal defence bunkers, underground ammunition stores and signal stations distributed across their coastlines. Several of these JNA island installations stand in states of complete dereliction in the pine forest: concrete bunker networks with the Adriatic visible through the firing slits, the specific Yugoslav military construction aesthetic of rough concrete and steel reinforcement. Mapped exclusively in our Croatia Urbex Map. GPS in our Croatia Urbex Map.
5. Derelict Dalmatian Hinterland Settlement – Zagora Region, Split-Dalmatia — Post-WWII Rural Exodus, Dry-Stone Houses, Karst Landscape, Mosor Mountain Backdrop (Exclusively on Our Map)
The Dalmatian Zagora — the karst hinterland immediately behind the coastal mountains of Split-Dalmatia — experienced severe rural depopulation in the post-WWII decades as agricultural communities migrated to Split and the coast. Several Zagora stone villages stand in states of near-complete dereliction: dry-stone construction (suhozid) returning to the limestone karst, the village church still standing, the abandoned agricultural terracing visible across the hillsides. The combination of the extraordinary Zagora karst landscape, the traditional Dalmatian vernacular stone architecture and the Mosor mountain backdrop creates a rural abandonment experience specific to this part of Croatia. Full GPS details in our Croatia Urbex Map. Full GPS details in our Croatia Urbex Map.
Safety Tips
- Krvavica resort: the brutalist terrace structure has been partially exposed to the elements for decades — assess each floor individually before ascending
- Island bunkers: Cold War-era concrete bunkers may have unstable ceilings and flooded lower levels — always carry a torch and never enter alone
- Zagora roads: karst hinterland tracks can be rough and impassable after rain — always check conditions before setting out
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and share your location
❓ FAQ
What is the most famous abandoned place near Split?
The Children's Maritime Military Health Resort in Krvavica — 25km south of Split on the D8 coastal road, a protected Croatian modernist architecture site and one of the finest brutalist derelict buildings on the Dalmatian coast. The combination of the JNA-era design and the Adriatic setting is unique in the region.
Are there abandoned places in Split city centre?
Split's industrial waterfront zone between the centre and Kaštela holds derelict Yugoslav-era infrastructure in institutional limbo. The city's Roman heritage in the Diocletian Palace area is actively managed; the post-Yugoslav industrial periphery provides the genuine derelict experience.
How do I get to the Dalmatian islands for urbex from Split?
Jadrolinija ferries run from Split port to Brač (50 minutes), Šolta (1 hour) and Hvar (1 hour). Check current timetables at jadrolinija.hr — schedules change seasonally. Our Croatia Urbex Map includes GPS for accessible island sites with ferry connection details.
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