While most visitors to Brač rush toward Zlatni Rat beach or Vidova Gora peak, the true charms of this island are hidden among centuries-old olive groves. There, covered in lichen and enveloped in silence, stand stone bread ovens – silent witnesses to a time when every family baked their own bread in a shared outdoor oven.
What exactly are outdoor communal ovens?
Outdoor communal ovens, also known as komunitade or krušnice, were centers of village life on Brač until the mid-20th century. Located far from houses, in the middle of olive groves or at the edges of fields, they served entire hamlets. Women would knead the dough in the morning, children would carry it to the oven, and the oldest woman in the village was responsible for firing and baking.
Building these ovens was no simple task. The people of Brač used local limestone – the same stone from which the White House in Washington was built – stacking stones into perfect domes without using cement. Only the interior of the oven was lined with special fire-resistant clay.
Five bread ovens you can visit
1. Bread oven in Dračevica – the best preserved on the island
Just two kilometers from Sutivan, in the olive grove of the Bošković family, stands the finest example of an outdoor oven on Brač. It is fully functional – the owners still use it for family celebrations. The dome, nearly two meters high, exudes the strength of generations who built it.
How to get there: From Sutivan, head toward the village of Dračevica. After the small church of St. Roch, turn right onto the gravel road and drive about 500 meters. You'll recognize the oven by the stone wall surrounding it.
Tip: If you're renting an apartment in Sutivan, this is an ideal one-hour morning walk.
2. Two ovens in Donji Humac – twin sisters
Donji Humac, a village known for its stone-carving tradition, hides an unusual sight – two identical bread ovens just twenty meters apart. Legend has it they were built by two brothers who couldn't agree on who would bake bread first, so each built his own.
Both ovens are now abandoned, but their domes still defy time. The surrounding olive grove is over 300 years old, and some trees have trunks more than a meter in diameter.
How to get there: In Donji Humac, ask the locals for directions to Blatine. Everyone knows about these ovens.
3. Bread oven near Škrip – the oldest on Brač
Historians estimate this oven was built in the 17th century, making it the oldest documented bread oven on the island. It's located on the path between Škrip and Splitska, along the old donkey trail once used to carry olive oil to the port.
The special feature of this oven is its double opening – one for inserting wood, another for bread. This construction allowed baking even when the fire hadn't completely burned down.
Practical information: From Škrip, walk about 40 minutes. The trail is marked, but wear sturdy footwear as the terrain is rocky.
4. Oven in the Blaca olive grove – a forgotten beauty
Not the famous hermitage, but the olive grove north of Blaca cove hides a smaller bread oven that most visitors bypass. This very isolation makes it special – it feels like you've discovered something no one else knows about.
The dome is partially collapsed, but the structure is still readable. Wild sage and immortelle grow around the oven, creating an aromatic carpet you won't forget.
Note: Access requires good physical fitness. Combine with a visit to the Blaca Hermitage for a full-day excursion.
5. Bread oven in Nerežišća – in the heart of the island
The warmest-hearted Brač locals say that Nerežišća is the heart of the island, and the heart of Nerežišća is the old bread oven behind the parish church. This oven has a special story – it was used until the 1970s, and the last grandmother who baked bread in it passed away in 2003 at the age of one hundred.
A local association occasionally organizes traditional bread-baking workshops. If you're lucky enough to have your visit coincide with one of them, you'll experience a Brač that tourist guides don't know.
Best time for exploration
The ideal time for visiting bread ovens is early spring (March–April) or late autumn (October–November). Temperatures are pleasant for hiking, olive groves are either in bloom or olives are being harvested, and you won't have to push through crowds.
In summer, avoid midday. If you do go from June to September, set out at dawn or before sunset. Bring plenty of water – there are no springs or cafés at these locations.
Where to stay for this kind of experience
For an authentic experience of exploring Brač's interior, instead of hotel complexes on the coast, choose accommodation in smaller villages like Nerežišća, Škrip, or Pražnica. Stone houses converted into apartments offer peace that coastal towns cannot provide.
On the BarbaBooking platform, you can find exactly these types of accommodations – from restored stone houses with their own olive groves to family apartments whose hosts gladly share stories about local history.
What to bring with you
- Sturdy footwear – trails are rocky and uneven
- A map or offline navigation – signal is weak in the interior
- A bottle of water and snacks – there are no shops or cafés
- A camera – the scenes are incredibly photogenic
- Respect – many ovens are on private land, behave accordingly
More than a tourist attraction
Outdoor communal ovens are not open-air museums or Instagram locations. They are living reminders of a life that was slower, more communal, and inseparably tied to the land. When you stand before such an oven, overgrown with grass and forgotten, something within you pauses.
Perhaps it's the scent of immortelle. Perhaps it's the sound of wind in the olive tree crowns. Or perhaps just the awareness that in this very spot, a hundred or two hundred years ago, someone waited for bread to bake – just as you would.
Brač has much to offer. But these five stone bread ovens offer something that beaches and restaurants cannot – silence that tells stories.