Our Lady of Health near Vodnjan: the church at Gusan

Updated November 6, 2026.

The Church of Our Lady of Health was built in 1854 at Gusan near Vodnjan. Its courtyard cross recalls the parish missions.

A trace of an abandoned village

Gusan was a village in the countryside around Vodnjan, beside the present road towards Bale. Its surviving church was built in 1854 on the site of a predecessor dating from the 13th century.

The present building has a rectangular plan, a single nave and no apse. Residents of Vodnjan contributed money towards its restoration in 1936. The approach was improved and trees were planted around the church. An inscription on the south wall records the year of that restoration.

The portico and parish missions

A portico with ten square-section columns stands before the entrance. Its roof is lower than the church façade, above which rises a stone bell gable with a cross. Cypresses grow beside the church, and the hillside overlooks the olive groves of western Vodnjan and the Brijuni islands.

The large courtyard cross is associated with parish missions. During these periods of religious renewal, visiting preachers came to the parish. At the end, the faithful made a pilgrimage to the church and cross. The inscription “Sacre Missioni 1938” commemorates the missions held that year.

The church stands northwest of Vodnjan, beside the road to Bale. The map marker identifies the church at Gusan.

Address: Gusan, 52215 Vodnjan

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