Buje: the old town, St Servulus and the Ethnographic Museum

Updated October 13, 2026.

Buje preserves a medieval centre with churches and a painted palace. Above the old town gate, a museum explores rural life and work in the Buje area.

Buje stands on a hill in western Istria, 13 kilometres east of Umag. Its old centre retains a medieval street layout. Begin on Trg slobode, in the lower part of town that grew beyond the earliest walls, then walk uphill to the parish church at the top.

Our Lady of Mercy and the museum above the town gate

Trg slobode is home to the Church of Our Lady of Mercy. A local legend links the shrine to Pavle Račica, who brought a statue of the Virgin from Venice. After spending the night outside the closed town gate, he found he could not move the statue the next morning, so he had a chapel built there. The church now houses a wooden sculpture from the Venetian workshop of Paolo Campsa and Giovanni da Malines.

Opposite the church, above the vaulted passage of the former southern town gate, is the Ethnographic Museum. Its displays are arranged across several floors as an old Istrian house. Alongside a kitchen with a hearth and a weaving area, the collection explains olive processing in the Buje countryside, from the millstone and wooden press to stone oil-storage vessels. A forge with bellows and an anvil completes the account of rural work.

The upper square and the unfinished façade of St Servulus

The Church of St Servulus, Buje's patron saint, stands on the upper square beside the bell tower and a Gothic palace with a painted façade. The present church dates from the second half of the 18th century. Fragments of an earlier church were incorporated into its unfinished façade, leaving part of the site's history visible from outside.

Inside are marble statues of St Servulus and St Sebastian by the Venetian sculptor Giovanni Marchiori, along with an organ built by Gaetano Callido in 1791. The church is used for special services and concerts, but daily access for sightseeing is not guaranteed.

Towards Momjan or the coast

Vineyards and olive groves are an important part of the countryside around Buje. To continue into wine country, head to Momjan, with Rota Castle and the House of Castles. For a visit to the coast, descend from Buje towards Umag.

Photo source: Shutterstock

Distance from Bale: 43 minutes driving (55.4 km)

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