Useful information about Zadar

Sea organ – Greeting to the sun

Sea Organ is situated on the western end of Zadar´s Riva, and can be observed as a differently shaped part of the coast which consists of several stairs that descend into the sea.

The organ looks like a series of broad steps leading down into the water, but there´s actually very clever engineering hiding under the surface.The lower steps allow water and air to flow in. That water and air is then funneled into resonant chambers under the steps, and pushed out through the channels on the upper stairs, seen here. These cause the undulating, chime-like notes to be produced. Because the sea is always shifting and changing, the sea organ never sounds exactly the same twice. Each sound you hear is completely unique.

The Greeting to the Sun consists of three hundred multi-layered glass plates placed on the same level with the stone-paved waterfront in the shape of a 22-meter diameter circle. Under the glass conduction plates there are photo-voltage solar modules through which symbolic communication with nature is made, with the aim to communicate with light, just like the Sea Organs do with sound.

Church of St.Donat

Church of St.Donat – the symbol of the city of Zadar and the most famous monumental edifice in Croatia from the early Middle Ages (9th c.). Church of St.Donat is round pre-Romanesque church which was called the Church of the Holy Trinity until the 15th c., and from that time on carries the name of Saint Donat, by the bishop who had it built. The church was mentioned for the first time in mid 10th c. in the documents of the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos.

Sv. Stošija

The biggest cathedral in Dalmatia. Its oldest parts are an early Christian basilica, but its present Romanesque appearance was shaped in the 12th century. During the crusaders´ siege and conquest of the city in 1202, the Cathedral was damaged, but later it was reconstructed and made longer.

The façade, completed in 1324, has two orders: the lower and more massive one has three portals, the central one being crowned by a bas-relief of Madonna and Child with Sts. Crisogonus and Anastasia; the upper one culminates in a triangular pediment, and is decorated with four orders of Lombard bands. These include a large Romanesque-style rose window and a smaller, Gothic-style oculus. The left edge of the façade is decorated with a statue of a lion, while the right one is decorated with a statue of a bull: these are symbols of the evangelists Mark and Luke, rspectively. The richly decorated main portal contains a basrelief of the four apostles. The lunette of the left portal is decorated with a statue of the mystical lamb, while the consoles near the vault contains statues of angel Gabriel and Virgin Mary, which are older than the portal.

The interior has a nave and two aisles, the former three times larger than the latter, which are separated by alternately arranged stone pillars and pylons. The presbytery is elevated; the 12th century crypt is located under it. In the presbytery are choir stalls, executed in Gothic style by 15th century master Matej Morozan; above the main altar is the early Gothic ciborium from 1322, while beyond it is stone seat made for the Archbishop. On the northern wall of the marble altar are pictures of St. Dominic and Sacred Heart. The altar was transferred from the eponymous church. The second altar is dedicated to the souls of Purgatory and was built by the Venetian stonemason Peter Onega in 1805. The altarpiece is a work of art by Josip Palma Jr. At the end of the nave is a marble altar with a marble paneling depicting the Sacred Heart, while the apse houses a marble sarcophagus with the relics of St. Anastasia with the inscription by Bishop Donat (9th century). There are also fragments of medieval frescoes in the Cathedral.

The southern aisle is home to a marble altar used for storing relics. Next to it is the altar of St. Sacrament, work by sculptor A. Viviani from the year 1718. The altar has rich decorations with columns and statues. Above the tabernacle is the statue of Madonna with the dead Christ lying in her lap, with statues of Moses and Elijah on the sides. On the alter wings there are larger statues of the four evangelists, and, below them, figures of virtues and, on an antependium, a statut of the Lamb of God. The southern aisle ends with an apse housing remains of frescoes. Above the aisles is a matroneum.

Narodni trg

Narodni trg is the centre of public life in Zadar from the Renaissance until today. On the site of the Large Square, platea magna, the foundations of municipal institutions were laid in the early Middle Ages.

Afterwards, the City Lodge and the Church of St. Peter the New were erected here. They were destroyed by the authorities during the Venetian reign in the 15th century. The 16th century saw the building of City Guard (Gradska straža) with the city clock tower, while a new City Loggia was erected on the site of the old one.

On the northern side of the Square is the City Guard (Gradska straža) from 1562, designed by a Venetian architect Michele Sanmicheli in the late Renaissance style. The large central clock tower was erected at the beginning of the19th century with a surrounding stone barrier and railing with holes for cannons. The building once housed the Ethnographic Section of the National Museum, one of the most important collections in the country, and worth seeing for the rich colours of local national costumes, textiles (weaving and lace), jewellery, agricultural, fishing and household objects.

Next to it is the small, well preserved pre-Romanesque church of St. Lawrence (Sveti Lovre) with an atrium. It is the oldest preserved building dating from the 11th century; small and simple, but architecturally rich. It can be visited from behind the Cafe bar “Sveti Lovre”.

On the southern side of the People’s Square is the City Loggia (Gradska loža), first mentioned in the 13th century; it was rebuilt in 1565, similar in aspect to some other works of Michele Sanmicheli. This building once was the city’s courthouse, council chambers and library. It was restored after being heavily damaged in the World War II. With its huge windows and high ceilings, it nowadays serves as a stunning exhibition space, hosting events such as the international photography triennial “Man and the Sea” and the triennial of contemporary Croatian art “The Blue Salon”.

The Pedrini Baroque Palace was destroyed by the fascist authorities during the Italian rule, and today’s City hall building was erected in 1935. The Ghirardini Palace in Romanesque style with a balcony from the 15th century in gothic style stands to the east, just outside the square.

Forum

Located in front of the church of Saint Donat and the Archbishop´s Palace. It is a municipal square from the Roman era, built from the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD, 45 by 90 metres in size.

It represents a very developed example of the forum complex, and is one of the most important among the Adriatic ancient cities. The inscription with the name of Augustus´ proconsul for Illyricum, Tamfil Vaale, carved on the well of the Forum, testifies that the complex construction was started as early as the second decade of the 1st century BC.

The forum is the name given to all main squares in the cities of the ancient Roman Empire, where the public life of the city unfolded. There was initially an about 2 metre high capitol on its south-western section, in the midst of which a temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva rises, while a monumental pillar is preserved to its north-western side, used in the Middle Ages as a “Pillar of Shame”.

In the period of late antiquity, the foundations of Christian buildings were laid. They later developed into an episcopal complex with the basilica and annexes, and were joined by the rotunda in the Early Middle Ages, eventually destroying the complex of earlier erected buildings. In the course of history, the whole complex was reduced to rubble and the Kampa was built in its place, a medieval square with a Renaissance cistern.