Zadar is the main city of North Dalmatia , with about 75,000 inhabitants. Most famous for its Old Town, on a peninsula that is completely pedestrian, the city has many Roman and other wonderful attractions. The old town of Zadar is on the edge of a narrow peninsula. Most of the city is surrounded by city walls, with towers and both gates of the city of interest. It’s an amazing place to visit!
The mainland gate (Kopnena vrata in Croatian), east of the old town, was built in 1543 and has the city’s coat of arms engraved. Its use was as the main entrance to the Old Town from the mainland. Near it is the Captain’s Tower (Kapetanova kula ), dating from the 13th century, part of the city’s defense. A much more recent terrace has been constructed, which means that you can go up to the tower to see the magnificent view. In the same square – Trg pet bunara – there are five wells ( pet bunara means five wells in Croatia). They were built in 1574 and functioned as water for the city.
Kalelarga (official name Siroka ulica – meaning Broad Street ) is the main ‘street’ that crosses the old town of Zadar and has many cafes, ice cream shops, regular shops and much more!
In the center of the Old Town is the Church of St. Donatus ( Crkva Sveti Donata ) built in the early 9th century and has a height of 27m. In a city of 30 churches, it ceased to be used as a church in the late 18th century, but is still used today as an excellent concert venue and is something of Zadar’s icon.
Nearby is the church of Agia Maria ( Crkva Sveta Marija ) and the cathedral of Agia Anastasia (Katedrala Sveta Stosija) from the 13th century.
The bell tower (zvonik) of St Anastasia’s Cathedral – located right next to St Donatos Church – can be climbed for magnificent views of Zadar, the sea and especially the people walking down Kalelarga. The steps to the top are quite narrow, but they’re not particularly scary, and there’s not much room at the top – but the projections are more than offset that.
The forum in Zeleni Trg was 95m to 45m in size, believed to have been built between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD.Today, very few of them remain except for the cobblestones and some walls. There is also a 14-metre-high column in which, until 1840, the city’s offenders were shackled to public humiliation. Zeleni Trg, however, remains the bustling main square of Zadar
The Archaeological Museum is just outside the Forum, it deserves a visit – this museum is very well set up and offers detailed explanations for all exhibits, including a fairly extensive history of the region and Croatia.
If you have children in attraction – or maybe you are a big child at heart! – see the Museum of Illusion . You can have fun with the range of exhibits, from the warp tunnel to the antigravity and rotating rooms, and much more.
Zadar is a coastal town and harbour in Croatia, located north of Split and south of Rijeka. During the Middle Ages it was called Zara and it was the city where the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade attacked in 1202 at the request of the Venetians, when the Crusaders appeared in Venice without the money agreed with the Venetians for their transfer to Egypt. The old town is built on a peninsula, which is surrounded by a wall and is fully built with small streets and three-storey four-storey buildings, with typical medieval city architecture. Today this part of the city is not accessible by car. The modern Zadar extends well on both sides of the beach and in 2011 had a population of 75,082 inhabitants.