Ever since the 13th century, various documents, wills and statutes mention the monastery and the church of St Francis in Krk. The monastery says a lot about the tradition of the Franciscan order in Krk. According to a legend written in 1500, St Francis came to Krk because of a storm. There he met a hermit who accepted his teaching, after which the Franciscan order was founded on Krk.

The church of St Francis is a single-nave structure with Gothic vaulted semicircular apse. It is traditionally oriented west-east. Considering that the sacristy contains frescos from an earlier period, it is assumed that this was the site of an older church and that the today’s church of St Francis was made by its reconstruction. There is a relief of the Venetian lion with the closed book on the church wall dating from the 13th century. Closed book shows that Venice was at war at the time. The church bell tower was completed in 1743. The monastery was erected to the north of today’s church. There is not much data about its construction, but it is known that in 1500 the Dalmatian provveditore Sebastian Justiniani allowed the making of window openings on the part near the city walls. In 1625 a cistern with a cloister was built, which was supplied by rain water.

Opposite to the Franciscan church, also along the brim of the today’s Square of the Glagolitic Monks, there used to be the Poor Clares convent. The documents mention that the Poor Clares, owing to their strict enclosure, complained during the construction of the Franciscan bell tower because it had a view over their garden.

On the northern part of the city, along the Square of the Glagolitic Monks, there is the Benedictine convent. The sources indicate that the convent existed already in the 13th century. Since 1506 its history can be traced more directly, including its architectural expansion during the 16th, 17th and 18th century. Along the convent, there is the church dedicated to St Mary of the Angels and the bell tower. At the time, only Krk women, exclusively noble women, could have entered the convent. Thus the number of nuns decreased significantly so the law was soon adapted, but despite of that, at the beginning of the 17th century, the convent remained without the nuns, so the bishop called two nuns from Cres to restore it.

The Benedictine convent cherished the tradition of education for years. Stimulated by the bishop Šintić, in 1806 they opened the female elementary school in Italian language. From 1921 until 1935 the Benedictines managed a boarding school in their convent for girls attending the comprehensive school.