| Zadar & the surrounding area |
For centuries the capital city of Dalmatia and today the centre of the region. A city with a rich heritage of world importance, visible at every step. The Roman Forum from the 1st century, St. Donatus’ Church from the 9th century is the most famous medieval basilica and trademark of the city. The reconstructed Romanesque St. Grisigono's Church from the 12th century and the St. Mary's bell tower from the year 1105; the St. Anastasia's Cathedral from the 13th century; the People's Square with the City's Lodge and Guardhouse from the 16th century, as well as the mighty fortification walls with first class Sea and Land gates from the 16th century followed by the Three and Five Wells Squares and many palaces, villas and other historic monuments.
Kornati Islands
Kornati National Park is one of the most indented island groups in the Mediterranean - a unique braid of 150 islands, islets and rocks scattered throughout the central area of the Adriatic Sea. This is the bluest corner of the Adriatic, a place where the azure of the Kornati archipelago is fully expressed in contrast to the greyish-white karst prevailing on the islands.
With its singularly vibrant sea, abundance of sun, numerous bays, inlets and harbours Kornati is an unavoidable destination for boaters and sailors cruising the Adriatic and is the right choice for the modern day Robinson Crusoe.
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Nature Reserves
There are numerous Nature Reserves in North Dalmatia.
Telascica (a bay on Dugi Otok), lake Vrana (the largest natural lake in croatia) and the Velebit mountain are nature parks in the Zadar region. Unesco proclaimed velebit a world biosphere reserve in 1978.
Click here for a list of parks.
Cultural Heritage
The zadar region boasts a 3000-year-old heritage. Nin, Pag and Biograd were once royal towns, and Zadar, with its historical and cultural heritage, is one of the most interesting cities in Croatia, lying in the heart of the region.
The City of Zadar
St. Donatus' Church from the 9th century - unique in Europe.
Forum from the 1st century at the time of Emperor Augustus - the largest explored Forum on the eastern side of the Adriatic.
The Monastery of St. Francis - treasury and oldest gothic styled church in Dalmatia.
St. Stosija's Cathedral from the 13th century is one of the most beautiful samples of Romanesque architecture in Croatia, with floor mosaics dating from the 5th century.
St. Grisogono's Church from the 12th century - belongs to the best samples of Romanesque architecture in Croatia.
Bell Tower of St. Mary's Church from 1105 is a fine example of Romanesque architecture; it was built by the Croat Hungarian King Coleman.
The Churches of St. Peter and Andrew the Elder from the 5th - 6th centuries.
St. Simon's casket with the saint's body is the most valuable sample of medieval Croatian goldsmith workmanship.
The fortification walls with a first rate renaissance Land Gate from the 16th century.
The Sea Gate with an incorporated Roman arch.
The Permanent Ecclesiastic Art exhibition- where the main exhibits are gilded religious objects in the shape of relics, as well as pictures from the churches of Zadar and surroundings.
The Town of Nin
Little Church of St. Kriz from the 9th century called "the smallest cathedral in the world".
Little Church of St. Nicholas from the 11th century on a hillock between Nin and Zaton.
Temple to the goddess Diana.
Archaeological collection with two reconstructed Liburnian vessels.
Reconstructed ancient Croatian boats - "Condure Croatice".
Cathedral treasury.
The city of Biograd
Local museum with exhibits from a sunken ship.
The city of Pag
the city itself as a monument to urban planning, set out to plans made by Juraj Dalmatinac.
St. Mary's Cathedral with a lace shaped Rosetta.
The city of Benkovac
Excavations of the ancient city of ASSERIA.
The islet of Osljak in the Zadar channel
The early Croatian Church of St. Mary from the 6th century.
The island of Ugljan
Early Croatian Church of St. John from the 12th century.
The settlement Muline: early Christian basilica and the remnants of ancient architecture.
Ugljan: the Franciscan Monastery of St. Jerolim's.
The island of Pašman
Kraj: Monastery of St. Dujam from the 14th century.
Mt. Cokovac above Tkon: Benedictine Monastery of St. Kuzma and Damjan from the 12th century.
Mala Proversa Strait: Villa rustica.
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| Šibenik & the surrounding area |
The historic town of Šibenik, connected with the expansion and development of the early Croatian state, is rich in cultural and historical monuments. The most representative among them is the famous Cathedral of Šibenik, one of the most original architectural projects of the late Middle Ages, primarily linked to the local master Juraj Matejev Dalmatinac (George of Dalmatia). Šibenik is today a tourist centre situated in the area where the best-indented archipelago in Europe (Islands of Kornati) and karst hydrographical phenomena (Skradinski Buk, Visovac, Roski Waterfall) merge into the ecologically and aesthetically most attractive tourist and recreational zone on the Croatian Adriatic.
History
Šibenik was first mentioned in 1066, in a document issued by King Petar Kresimir IV who stayed in the fortified citadel of St. Michael, today St. Anne's Fortress. From 1116 to 1124 and between 1125 and 1133 Šibenik was under Venetian rule. The Hungarian-Croatian king Stephen IV chartered Šibenik in 1167. After a short-lived rule of the Byzantine empire (until 1180), the town was fought over by Hungarian-Croatian kings, Venice, the Bosnian king Tvrtko and Duke Hrvoje Vukcic Hrvatinic. From 1412 to 1797 again under the power of Venice. From 1797 to 1918 (except for a short period of the French occupation) Šibenik was, together with the rest of Dalmatia, absorbed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the end of the First World War it was occupied by Italy but was returned to the parent country under the Treaty of Rapallo (1920). - Šibenik is the birthplace of three humanists: Juraj Sizgoric (around 1420- 1509), Antun Vrancic (1504-1573) and Faust Vrancic (1551-1617), of the writer Nikola Tommaseo (1802-1874) and many others.
