The abbey of St. Stephen is located on the Sustipan peninsula near the city walls of Split. It cannot be determined with certainty when it was founded. According to some historians, the abbey existed as early as the ninth century or the tenth at the latest, but everyone agrees that it was definitely before 1020, when this abbey was first mentioned in the donation charter of the deacon of Split called Petar. He endowed the monastery and retired to it, becoming a monk. The abbot and all the monks of St. Stephen enjoyed a great reputation. This is evidenced by numerous donations from dignitaries, as well as common people. In 1078, the last Croatian king from the Trpimirović family, Stjepan II, retired to the monastery and spent the rest of his life among the monks in prayer. On that occasion, he donated property to the Sustipan Abbey in the presence of the Croatian king Zvonimir and the Split archbishop Lovre. It cannot be determined with certainty until when the Benedictines stayed in this monastery.