Culture
St. Martin’s Church in Sveti Martin was built in 1602 on the foundations of an older church. After this older church began to collapse towards the end of the 19th century, a new St. Martin’s Church was built in 1888, using mostly material from the demolished previous building. The new church was blessed in the same year.
Inside, there is a stone altar with a painting of Saint Martin and two angels. The façade features a bell gable with two bells.
Renting a holiday apartment in Sveti Martin is one possible travel plan for people who want to experience Sveti Martin, St. Martin’s Church and Martinje in their own way.
Culinary Traditions
The Martinje tradition in Sveti Martin marks the traditional transformation of fermented must into young wine. As a local celebration, Martinje includes the ceremonial baptism of the new wine, visits to village konobas, young-wine tasting, music and traditional food-related activities. The celebrations also included the traditional preparation of salted cod.
The Martinje procession traditionally visits around fifteen village konobas and ends at the Brombejevi tavern at the highest point of the settlement. During the Martinje konoba procession, guests are served pršut, Istrian fritule and bakalar.
A Martinje weekend included a wine evaluation in the village, in which visitors also awarded a tasting prize. The celebration also included a demonstration of traditional rakija production in improvised tavern stills.
Cycling
Official cycling route 505, “Trail of Rašpor Captains”, is a 52.3-kilometre circular route that starts and ends in Buzet. Of this, 47.1 kilometres are macadam and 5.2 kilometres are asphalt.
From the outskirts of Sveti Martin, the route follows a macadam climb towards Finderli. From Strana, it returns to Sveti Martin via a forest road and then continues to the centre of Buzet.
