World-class shell collections: The astonishing Malacological Museums of the Makarska Riviera

Two small museums on this coast hold thousands of stories collected from the bottom of the sea. One sits inside a 16th-century Franciscan monastery in Makarska; the other, a private collection in nearby Baška Voda, was built one shell at a time by a single family. Together they make up one of the most overlooked corners of the Riviera’s cultural life — easy to miss, and well worth the detour.

What are the malacological museums on the Makarska Riviera?

The Makarska Riviera is home to two separate shell museums: the Malacological Museum of the Franciscan Monastery in Makarska, opened in 1963 and holding over 3 000 specimens from the Adriatic and beyond, and the privately run “Morski konjić” (Sea Horse) museum in Baška Voda, built up since the 1980s by local collector Ante Jurišić. The two are independent institutions with different origins, though both trace the same passion for what the sea leaves behind on this coast.

Malacological museum in Makarska

It all started with a few shells collected on the local beaches by a sailor’s son and an esteemed monk, Fra Jure Radić, in 1963. The museum opened to the public on 30 April that year, inside the old wing of the Franciscan Monastery of St. Mary, a stone complex built around 1540 and one of the most valuable cultural landmarks on the entire Riviera.

Fra Radić was a theologian and natural scientist, born in Baška Voda in 1920 and ordained a priest in 1943. Alongside the shell collection, he explored the flora of Biokovo and the marine life along the Makarska coast, later founding the Institute “Planina i more” (Mountains and Sea) in 1979 and the scientific journal Acta Biokovica in 1981. He died in Split in 1990.

Over 3 000 specimens on display

While it tracks the rich marine life of the local coast, the museum also holds tropical species and rare shells from Hawaii, Madagascar, Indonesia, the Caribbean, Australia, the Great Barrier Reef and even Antarctica. Alongside the shells, it preserves a herbarium of Biokovo mountain plants and a small fossil collection — ammonites, rudists and algae, remnants of the ancient Tethys Sea that once covered this land.

Planning your visit

Location: inside the Franciscan Monastery of St. Mary, in the old town of Makarska.

Hours: these have changed several times over the years and vary by season — recent hours have run Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, closed Sundays. It is worth checking current hours before you go, since sources vary between summer and winter schedules.

Contact: malakoloska.zbirka@gmail.com | +385 99 4639 293 | https://malakoloski-muzej-makarska.eu/

Malacological museum in Baška Voda

A short drive north of Makarska, Baška Voda hides its own sea treasures. The “Morski konjić” (Sea Horse) malacological museum is a separate, privately run collection built up since the 1980s by local collector Ante Jurišić as a personal project born from his love of the sea.

The collection started with local marine life: shells, fish and crabs from the waters around Baška Voda and the Adriatic, but soon expanded with unique specimens from the Atlantic Ocean. It is a place where local deep-sea shells share the shelves with unusual, colourful species brought in from the other side of the world, perfect for a quick cultural detour right after the beach.

Planning your visit

Location: Srida 3, Baška Voda.

Hours: open daily except Sunday, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, but it is worth confirming locally, especially outside peak summer months.

Contact: +385 (0)21 620 261

Frequently asked questions about the Riviera’s shell museums

Are the Makarska and Baška Voda malacological museums part of the same collection? No. They are separate institutions. The Makarska museum belongs to the Franciscan Monastery and was founded in 1963 by Fra Jure Radić. The Baška Voda museum, “Morski konjić,” is a privately owned collection built independently since the 1980s by Ante Jurišić.

How many shells are on display at the Makarska museum? Over 3 000 specimens, including shells from the Adriatic as well as tropical and subtropical seas such as Hawaii, Madagascar, Indonesia, the Caribbean and Antarctica.

Does the Makarska museum only show shells? No. Alongside the malacological collection, it holds a herbarium of Biokovo mountain plants and a small paleontology collection featuring ammonites, rudists and algae from the ancient Tethys Sea.

Where is the Baška Voda shell museum located? At Srida 3 in Baška Voda, a short drive north of Makarska along the Riviera.

Who founded the Makarska Malacological Museum? Fra Jure Radić, a Franciscan friar, theologian, and natural scientist born in Baška Voda in 1920, founded the museum in 1963 and opened it to the public that same year.

Between the two of them, these malacological museums hold a version of the Riviera most visitors never see — not the coastline itself, but everything the sea has quietly deposited on it over millions of years. A cloudy afternoon, a break from the beach, or a curious hour in the old town is all it takes to find it.

PHOTO | TZ MAKARSKA (GABRIELA BAŠIĆ FOR MALACOLOGICAL MUSEUM MAKARSKA) | TZ BAŠKA VODA (LJUDEVIT BLAGEC)