St. John‘s Church in Svaty Jan pod Skalou was built at the beginning of the 13th century near the legendary and fabulous St. Ivan‘s Cave. A provostship since 1310, then an abbotship since 1517. Today‘s view of the ground with St.John the Baptist‘s Nativity Church dates back to its renovation in the 17th and 18th centuries. Located in a deep narrow canyon at the foot of a grandiose rock face, the place ranks among the most impressive sacred grounds in Bohemia.
The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.