Welcome to Zadar! An ancient city of 75,000 people located in the middle of Croatia on the Adriatic coast.
This city has been continuously inhabited for three thousand years! It has a turbulent history, one where it has been continuously devastated, looted or destructed by many different countries and administrations, each time rebuilding itself better, stronger, richer and more beautiful than before.
The Romans were the first to build the city and a lot of its Roman heritage still stands today and is still being uncovered and preserved. The Venetians, Austrians and French have all conquered and ruled through the ages leaving their touches also.
Zadar’s old town like many Croatian cities was built on a peninsula, all the better to defend with crazy big stone walls built around it which made it hard to access from the sea and protecting the narrow gap of land between the peninsular and the mainland. So starts the tour of Zadar.
From our place we walk around the peninsular following the sea and the huge defensive walls to enter Zadar for the first time from the old main entrance of the city, The Land Gate.
The Land Gate below was built in 1543 by the Venetians and the middle arch was designed for carriages to pass through and the two side gates were for pedestrians.
Sculpted into the gate is the lion of St Mark, the Coat of Arms of the City of Zadar and the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Venice. St Chrysogonus is the patron saint of the city and he is on horseback in the middle.
The water in front of the gate was once a moat and there used to be a drawbridge over it, the moat has now been transformed into a sheltered wee harbor with small boats moored in it. The walls of the city are formidable as you walk alongside them and there was a fort nearby that used to house the garrison that protected the city.
From the Land Gate you walk into into the Square of The Fives Wells. Which is just that, the main water supply for the city built in 1574. The wells were created after a Turkish invasion where the city was perilously close to running out of water during a siege.
The wells were built to rectify this problem and future proof the safety of the city that can claim to have never been conquered by the Turks….not for want of their trying through the ages Rosie might add.
The Square opens up from the lane where the wells are housed and it is just breathtaking. This was Rosies favorite square for a morning coffee or an afternoon Aperol.
It is a quiet square with no great buildings or monuments….but it has the tree….the tree is what makes the square….it is a giant of a specimen, so beautifully turned out in its old leaves of summer. Rosie would have loved to see it in its autumn finery.
You may laugh, Rosie knows her photos don’t do it justice, but the light loves this tree. It filters through its branches and shines on the leaves and at any time of the day the tree just looks….resplendent and luminous. The buildings behind the tree add another worldly dimension as do the cats that wander the square. This square is a little quieter for people watching, people are on the go in between places that walk in this area, most don’t stop and pause, but those that do fall in love with the tree as well, Rosie can tell because of their long upward stares and slight smiles.
Beneath this square are partially excavated remains of Roman houses, walls and floors. Hazy, scratched and scuffed clear panels are set into the footpath for you to find a clear spot and peer down at antiquity.
Back to the cats for a moment…The cats in this town are everywhere, they are all in good condition and are all plump and well fed. They do not scrounge at restaurant tables….they appear to be just ‘town square cats’ who, no matter how people surround them are completely non plussed in their pursuit of sun spots and sleep….they are just doing what normal cats do….just totally in a public environment.
On the corner of Rosies Square stands a Roman pillar, this was taken from the Roman Forum near were The Operator parked the car and was relocated here in 1729, it is an impressive time worn specimen from the 1st century that would of once helped support a temple. This pillar also marks the end of the Wide Street, the main street of Zadar.
The Wide Street is the main thoroughfare on the peninsular that connects all of the important spaces and squares in Zadar Old Town.
It was rebuilt after its destruction in the Second World War and was made wider than the original to adapt to modern living and make access easier in the Old Town. The streets are paved with smooth white marble and the buildings are high which create a shady alleyway for shoppers to stroll the designer stores and boutiques. It is a soulless kind of space and the only street that the wind howls through making it kind of cold.
Just out of Rosies Square is the austere St Simeons church. Built in the 5th century, it didn’t always go under this name but has since the bones of the revered Saint Simeon were transported here in 1632.
Inside the church is a gilded silver casket. One of the most significant examples of jewelry art in Croatia…..well, Rosie was drawn like a moth to the flame….the casket was crafted in 1377 and contains the body of said Saint Simeon. The casket also shows scenes of the Saints life, the exhumation of his body and placement in this box, it also shows the city walls of Zadar, its people doing ordinary things and sailing ships in the harbor…..from way back in 1377.
Standing in the church doorway was a sign that ladies could not wear swimwear into the church…duh…also no shorts or bare shoulders. That’s cool we are all good to go, Rosie is not breaking the dress code.
Rosie respectfully enters the dim quiet interior….and focuses on the silver prize up behind the alter. A priest is hovering and approaches The Operator and asks him to leave…the no shorts policy applies to him too….even though they are long and tidy. The hovering priest is actually escorting The Operator down the long walkway to the front door!
Rosie abandons The ‘apprehended’ Operator and seizes her moment in the dim light and starts taking a few banned snaps whilst the priests back is turned….Rosie knows Jesus is watching….but he wont tell.
Up to the alter creeps Rosie and onto the revered walkway in front of the silver casket. Rosie touched the blessed, ancient, burnished 700 hundred year old casket , not sure if I was allowed to do that, and then touched the glass that housed the dried crispy corpse of St Simeon with his stretched rictus grin like a dozen pilgrims before had done (as testament to the fingerprints on the glass) and took another sneaky photo of the beautiful silver casket.
Good on The Operator for causing a distraction with his sexy legs in a Holy place so Rosie could sneak in a few sneaky shots when the priests back was turned. OK, they mainly turned out rubbish due to Rosies rushed stealth mode…or maybe Jesus was watching and this was the repercussion.
The (indignant) Operator was waiting outside and off we toddled around the corner to The Peoples Square. Such was The Operators indignation that Rosie never even took a photo of the outside of the church…it was plain anyway.
The Peoples Square is the central gathering place in Zadar. Its a relatively small area for being the main square, blindingly white and the buildings largely made out of the same colour marble as the street. Market umbrellas are out and cover the majority of the center of the square, people sit under them admiring the buildings and watching the people walk by, through, and pausing to take photos.
The City Sentinel (clocktower building, left of pic below) stands out in The Peoples Square for its uniqueness. It was built in 1562 as a…fortress….isn’t this the cutest fortress you have ever seen?! In front of the building there is a fence on which there are round cannon holes dating back from 1783.
The fortress always had a clock tower but the original one was destroyed and a newer, taller one was built in 1798 which is the one you see today. Its hard to imagine the context of this relatively small building and get the picture of how it actually contributed to the safety of the town….but today, hundreds of years later, it looks pretty amazing.
The City Lodge was built at the same time and stands directly across the square from The City Sentinel. This building, on the right of the picture, was used as the cities courthouse and council chambers. It is now an exhibition space and buskers play instruments on is steps for the captive crowd in the Square.
The Interior of the old town is a car free checker board of narrow streets full of shops, restaurants, cafes and bars. Tables and chairs spill out onto the pavement at every twist and turn. Wandering the streets and alleyways we came across the The City Market.
It is set out in lanes under umbrellas and is tucked into a small square with its back to the city walls. It is a local fruit and vegetable market which also sells olive oil, cheeses and salami. Flower sellers are on the fringe and they seem to be making a lot of funeral wreaths and grave arrangements which are flying out the door.
Rosie and The Operator found a stairway in the wall that took us up onto the roadway that is now built on the top of the old city defense wall, it gave us a nice view down onto the market and old town.
Over the other side of the road, it also gave us a nice view of the modern buildings and harbor of the New Town.
The two sides of Old and New are linked with a footbridge and you can enter the Old Town from here through the Sea Gate, anther original gate from 1573.
Rosie and The Operator are off to gain some perspective of this peninsular, we are going to climb the bell tower that is visible from all parts of the Old Town. The tower peeps at you from alleyways and the bells toll the hours and quarters with a long deep resonating chime.
The Bell Tower of St Donatus soars above the city and is very Venetian in appearance, another direct copy of the tower in St Marks Square Venice….every town in Croatia seems to have one of these towers, Rosie is beginning to think this is the only blueprint they had at the time. This tower was rebuilt after WW2 as it was destroyed in the bombing.
The climb to the top offers a nice breeze in an otherwise still city. Just like we thought. The view from the top gives you a real appreciation of the peninsular and we arrived above the bells one minute before being deafened in the stairwell when the four giant bells struck the half hour.
The site of the ancient Roman Forum is beneath the bell tower. It is the largest forum on this side of the Adriatic and was founded by the Emperor Augustus in 27 BC. Aerially, this one is a little disappointing. But it does indicate the size and give you an appreciation of the ‘edges’ of buildings…if you look close.
This area housed temples and official buildings. There was also a long colonnaded area that served as the daily market. This was once a thriving public space and wasn’t actually discovered until the 1930s.
Allied bombers inadvertently helped with the clearing of the space….and the site was completely restored and cleared in the 60’s. The archaeological finds are laid out as they were found to give you an idea of the size and scale of the time…if you screw your eyes up and turn your head to the side…it is still a stretch.
The beauty is you can wander amongst the stones and sit on them and try to imagine what it was like with the minimal props available. The ancient rubble is also under trees in this area which offer awesome shady spots and respite from the hot sun.
The huge solid windowless building in front of the bell tower is the church of St Donatus which was built in the 9th century as the private chapel for the man himself….when Donatus was the humble bishop of Zadar.
St Marys Church is on the other side of the forum and stands next to the car park where The Operators car is, in between the two is a small flea market which lines the footpath.
It is open from early morning till well into the night and sells antiques, records, vintage clothes and the like. Rosie particularly loved the old ships wheels for sale….The Operator shook his head at that one when Rosies eyes lit up….spoilsport.
Along the waterfront path or Riva, as its officially known as, in front of Rosie and The Operators apartment, is the marble promenade that stretches around the peninsular. It is a beautiful walk in the sunshine under the blue skies along the waters edge. As you peer over into the crystal clear sea, schools of small fish are being chased by bigger ones and boats ply back and forth causing the only ripples in the languid sea. People are strolling or sitting on the edge of the walkway enjoying the tranquility.
This statue can enjoy the tranquility for all eternity….Spiro Brusina born in 1845, a freemason, zoologist, expert in the natural sciences and all round geeky dude stares at the secrets the shell contains whilst taking in the view outside the University of Zadar which too sits on the promenade.
As we joined the stream of strollers along the Riva we found ourselves visiting Zadars most famous piece of installation art, the Sea Organ.
The Sea Organ is a seventy meter long natural musical instrument with thirty five organ pipes placed under the concrete waterfront in a series of steps so that when the sea and wind push through the openings into the organ chambers it makes a very unique sound. The eerie music emanates from the openings in the upper stairs above water level.
The sound itself is like a continuous, subtle melancholy wail…like that of whale song. Some have likened it to the mesmerizing ‘natural song of the earth’. Others have likened it to a cheesy gimmick. To be honest….when Rosie first heard it she was very underwhelmed. But take a moment, sit on the steps, listen to the eerie random melody in conjunction with the lap of the waves, the cries of the gulls and the the tranquil expanse of the ocean in front of you….well, Rosie nearly had a transcendental medative moment. Nearly, that is until a gabbling busload of Chinese tourists wandered onto the scene and the sound of the earth was drowned out by their loud rude voices….irony at best, hordes of Chinese not listening to the song of the planet and killing it on all levels.
We also came back at dawn, where we were the only ones there as the city woke up, the wail was soft and ethereal as the sky blushed pink and stained the sea an early morning shade of pastel. The fog was lifting off the sea adding to the other worldly atmosphere and the sea rippled like silk. It truly was a beautiful moment.
Sunset from our deck was pretty special too. The sky is always pink and the sea a pale blue, silhouettes of boats and the palm trees that line the promenade just add to the amazing moment as you watch the sun dip below the horizon.
In the evenings, after sunset, Rosie and The Operator would bust forth down the alley ways around their apartment for a local meal surrounded by hustle and bustle.
There were many places to choose from and it was fun just walking through the narrow lanes and seeing where they would take us. It was amazing to see what was around the next corner. Colourful bars and restaurants lit up with strings of light overhead zig zagging the narrow alley and candles flickering on the tables added to the great ambiance.
Rosie and The Operator loved Zadar! Is a great place to soak up the atmosphere of a beautiful, timeless, ancient city which has discreetly incorporated a lot of modernity into it. This overall enhances the whole city experience without being detrimental or irreverent to history, or the past in the least.
Tomorrow though, we bid Zadar farewell, a ferry journey awaits and we are all set to visit our first island, Hvar. A beautiful resort island brimming with lavender and olive trees.
