Partner
Confraternity of St. James – Croatia
The Croatian St James confraternity: through Camino Croatia it is building a network of some 2,400 km of pilgrim routes, issues the Croatian credencial and co-runs the Camino Krk. In 2026 it received the Elías Valiña Award.
The Camino on the map
Caminos of this partner
Who stands behind the route
The Confraternity of St. James – Croatia, in Croatian Hrvatska bratovština sv. Jakova, is a non-profit association that places itself in a long line: Croatian confraternities were already helping pilgrims on their way to Santiago around 1203. Today it is the official Croatian representative at the Archicofradía Universal del Apóstol Santiago in Santiago de Compostela and a member of the Camino Europa Compostela federation. It publishes its annual accounts on its own website.
Its big project is Camino Croatia: making medieval pilgrim routes from Croatia towards Santiago walkable again. According to the confraternity, this has produced a network of some 2,400 kilometres, walked by more than 90,000 pilgrims in six years. On 9 February 2026 the Xunta de Galicia announced that the confraternity would receive the 26th Elías Valiña Award – named after the parish priest who once invented the yellow arrows. Galicia is honouring a Camino that never passes through Santiago.
The association's routes
- Camino Krk – 161.7 km around the island of Krk, from the cathedral square in Krk town to the church of St James in Kornić and back; run by the Krk town tourist board together with the confraternity
- Coastal route – sections from Dubrovnik and Medjugorje via Dalmatia, Šibenik (108 km) and Zadar to Istria
- Central route – including Banovina (87 km), Samobor and Gorski Kotar
- Inland route – including Slavonia, Podravina (160 km), Međimurje and Zagorje
- Island route – Krk, Brač and Korčula
The Camino Croatia sections (apart from Krk) are not yet on the Camino Ninja map; according to the confraternity more than ten are waymarked and have pilgrim infrastructure, and more are being developed.
What the association does for pilgrims
The confraternity issues the Croatian credencial, recognised by the Pilgrim Office in Santiago and valid for the Compostela – €2 in the webshop crocaminoshop.com or at Narodne novine branches, including Krk, Zagreb, Split and Zadar (as of October 2026). Stamps are mostly available at tourist information offices; each route's stamp points are shown on its map. On Krk around 350 blue signs with a yellow shell show the way, and at the end you receive the “Camino Krk Compostela” certificate free of charge.
The confraternity also organises group pilgrim walks in Croatia, weekends such as the Camino weekend in Medjugorje, pilgrimages to Santiago, and regularly opens new sections. A newsletter announces dates; the “Camino Prayer Arrows” campaign asked pilgrims to lay pebbles at waymarks – for other people's prayer intentions.
Contact and getting involved
Website: caminocroatia.com (English, Croatian, Italian) with contact form and newsletter · Webshop: crocaminoshop.com · Facebook: Camino Croatia. The confraternity is funded by donations and partnerships – municipalities, tourist boards and hosts can sign up as partners.