Zadar is a city in Croatia
on the
Adriatic
Sea
. It is the centre of Zadar county
and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Zadar faces the
islands of Ugljan
and Pašman
, from which it is separated by the narrow Zadar
Strait. The promontory on which the old city stands used to
be separated from the mainland by a deep moat which has since
become a landfill. The harbor, to the north-east of the town, is
safe and spacious. Zadar is the seat of a
Catholic archbishop.
Name
In
antiquity,
Iadera and
Iader, the much older roots of the settlement's names were
hidden, the names being most probably related to a hydrographical
term. It was coined by an ancient Mediterranean people and their
Pre-Indo-European language.
They transmitted it to later settlers, the
Liburnians.
The name of the Liburnian settlement was
first mentioned by a Greek
inscription from Pharos (Stari grad
) on the island of Hvar
in 384 BC,
where the citizens of Zadar were noted as
(Iadasinoi). According to the Greek source
Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax the city
was (
Idassa), probably a vulgar Greek form of the original
Liburnian name.
During
Antiquity the name was
often recorded in sources in
Latin in
two forms:
Iader in the inscriptions and in the writings
of classic writers,
Iadera predominantly among the late
Antiquity writers, while usual ethnonyms were
Iadestines
and
Iadertines. The accent was on the first syllable in
both Iader and Iadera forms, which influenced the early-Medieval
Dalmatian language forms
Jadra,
Jadera and
Jadertina, where the
accent kept its original place.
In the Dalmatian language,
Jadra (
Jadera) was
pronounced
Zadra (
Zadera), due to the phonetic
transformation of
Ja- to
Za-. That early change
was also reflected in the
Croatian
name
Zadar, developed from
Zadъrъ by
vocalizations of the semi-vowel and a shift to male gender. An
ethnonym graphic
Jaderani from the legend of St. Krševan
in 9th century, was identical to the initial
old-Slavic form
Zadъrane, or
Renaissance Croatian
Zadrani.
The Dalmatian names
Jadra,
Jadera were
transferred to other languages; in
Venetian language Jatara (hyper
urbanism in 9th century) and
Zara,
Tuscan Giara, Latin
Diadora
(
Constantine VII in
DAI, 10th century),
Old French Jadres (Geoffroy de
Villehardouinin in the chronicles of the
Fourth Crusade in 1202),
Arabic Jadora (Al-Idrisi, 12th
century),
Iadora (Guido, 12th century),
Spanish Jazara,
Jara,
Sarra (14th century) and the others.
Jadera
became Zara when it fell under the authority of the Republic of
Venice
in the 15th century.Zara was later used by
the Austrian
Empire
in the 19th century, but it was provisionally
changed to Zadar/Zara from 1910 to 1920 and finally only
Zadar in 1945.
History
Prehistory
The district of present day Zadar has been populated since
prehistoric times. The earliest evidence of human life comes from
the Late
Stone Age, while numerous
settlements have been dated as early as the
Neolithic.
Before the Illyrians, the area was inhabited by an ancient
Mediterranean
people of a pre-Indo-European culture. They
assimilated with the
Indo-Europeans
who settled between the 4th and 2nd millennium BC into a new
ethnical unity, that of the
Liburnians.
Zadar was a Liburnian settlement, laid out in the 9th century BC,
built on a small stone islet and embankments where the old city
stands and tied to the mainland by the overflown narrow isthmus,
which created a natural port in its northern strait.
Antiquity
The Liburnians were known as great sailors and merchants, but also
had a reputation for piracy in the later years.
By the 7th century BC,
Zadar had become an important centre for their trading activities
with the Phoenicians
, Etruscans
, Ancient Greeks and
the other Mediterranean people. Its population at that time
is estimated at 2,000. From 9th to 6th century there was certain
koine - cultural unity in the Adriatic Sea, with the general
Liburninan seal, whose naval supremacy meant both political and
economical authority through a several centuries M. Zaninović,
Liburnia Militaris, Opusc. Archeol. 13, 43-67 (1988), UDK
904.930.2(497.13)>>65<<, page=""
47<=""></<,>ref>. Due to its geographical
position, Zadar developed into a main seat of the Liburnian
thalassocracy and took a leading role in Liburnian tetradekapolis,
organization of 14 communes.
The people
of Zadar, the Iadasinoi were first mentioned in 384 BC as
the allies of the Hvar
indigenes
and the leaders of an eastern Adriatic coast coalition in fight
against the Greek colonizers. An expedition of
10.000 men in 300 ships sailed out from Zadar and laid siege of
Greek colony Pharos
in the island of Hvar, but the Syracusan
fleet of Dionysus was informed and
attacked the siege fleet. The naval victory was taken by the Greeks
which allowed them relatively safer further colonization in the
southern Adriatic
.
The archaeological remains has shown that the main centres of
Liburnian territorial units or municipalities were urbanized
already in the last centuries BC, before the Roman conquest, Zadar
held territory of more than 600 km2 in the 2nd century BC.
In the middle of the 2nd century BC, the
Romans began to gradually invade the region.
Although being first Roman enemies in the Adriatic Sea, the
Liburnians mostly stayed aside in more than 230 years long Roman
wars with the Illyrians, to keep safe their naval and trade
connections in the sea. In 59 BC Illyricum was assigned as a
provincia (zone of responsibility) to
Julius Caesar and Liburnian Iadera became a
Roman
municipium.
Liburnian naval force was dragged into the Roman civil war between
Julius Caesar and
Pompey in 49 BC, partially
by force, partially because of local interests of the participants,
the Liburnian cities.
Caesar was supported by the urban Liburnian
centres, like Iader (Zadar), Aenona (Nin) and Curicum (Krk
), while the
city of Issa (Vis) and the rest of the
Liburnians gave their support to Pompey. In 49 BC near
island of Krk, "Navy of Zadar" equipped by fleets of a few
Liburnian cities and supported by some Roman ships, lost important
naval battle against Pompey supporting "Liburnian navy". Civil war
was prolonged until the end of 48 BC, when Caesar rewarded his
supporters in Liburnian
Iader and
Dalmatian Salona, by
giving status of the
Roman colonies
to their communitiesM. Zaninović, Liburnia Militaris, Opusc.
Archeol. 13, 43-67 (1988), UDK 904.930.2(497.13)>>65<<,
pages="" 56,="" 57<=""></<,>ref>. Thus, the city
was granted the title
colonia Iulia Iader, after its
founder and in next period some number of the Roman colonists
(mostly
legionary veterans) settled
there.
Real establishment of the Roman province of Illyricum occurred not
earlier than in 33 BC and
Octavian’s
military campaign in Illyria and Liburnia, when the Liburnians
finally lost their naval independence and their galleys and sailors
were included in the Roman naval fleets.

Roman Forum in Zadar
From the early days of Roman domination, Zadar gained its Roman
urban character and developed into the one of the most flourishing
centres on the eastern Adriatic coast, which lasted for several
hundred years.
The town was organised according to the
typical Roman street system with a rectangular street plan, a
forum, thermae, a sewage and water supply system that came from
lake Vrana
, by
40 km long aqueduct. It did not have a significant role
among the Roman administration in Dalmatia, although the
archaeological finds tell us about a significant growth of economy
and culture.
The new religion
Christianity did not
bypass the Roman province of
Dalmatia. Already by the end of
the 3rd century Zadar had its own bishop and founding of the Zadar
Christian community took place; a new religious center was built
north of the forum together with a basilica and a baptistery, as
well as other sacral objects. By some estimations, in the 4th
century it had probably around ten thousand citizens, including the
population from its
Ager, the nearby
islands and hinterland, an admixture of the indigenous Liburnians
and the Roman colonists.
The Early Medieval Period
During the
Migration Period and the
Barbarian invasions, Zadar underwent a stagnation.
In 441 and 447
Dalmatia was ravaged by the Huns, after the
fall of the Western
Roman Empire, in 481 Dalmatia became part of the Ostrogothic
kingdom
, which, besides Italy, already included the more
northerly parts of Illyricum, i.e.
Pannonia and
Noricum.
In the 5th century, under the rule of
Ostrogoths, Zadar became poor with many civic
buildings turning into ruins due to its advanced age. About the
same time (6th century) it was hit by an earthquake, which
destroyed entire complexes of monumental Roman architecture, whose
parts will later serve as material for building houses. This
certainly caused a loss of population and demographic changes in
the city, then gradually repopulated by the inhabitants from its
hinterland. However, six decencies of Gothic rule didn’t leave some
deep traces in common life of a province, the Goths saved those old
Roman Municipal institutions that were still in function, while
religious life in Dalmatia even intensified in the last years, so a
need for foundation of the additional bishopries occurred.
In 536 the
Byzantine emperor
Justinian the Great started a military
campaign to reconquer the territories of the former Western Empire
(see
Gothic War); and
in 553 Zadar passed to the
Byzantine
Empire. In 568 Dalmatia was devastated by an
Avar invasion; although further waves of
attacks by Avar and
Slav tribes kept up the
pressure, it was the only city which survived due to its protective
belt of inland plains. Dalmatian capital
Salona was captured and destroyed in the 40's of the
7th century, so Zadar became the new seat of the Byzantine archonty
of Dalmatia, territorially diminished to a few coastal cities with
their agers and municipal lands at the coast and the islands
nearby. The prior of Zadar had jurisdiction over all Byzantine
Dalmatia, so Zadar enjoyed metropolitan status at the eastern
Adriatic coast. At this time rebuilding began to take place in the
city.

St. Donatus church, 9th century
At the beginning of the 9th century the Zadar bishop
Donatus and the city duke Paul mediated the
dispute between the
Holy Roman
empire under
Pepin and the Byzantine
Empire. The
Franks held Zadar for a short
time, but the city was returned to Byzantium by a decision of the
812
Treaty of Aachen.
Zadar's economy revolved around sea, fishing and sea trade in the
first centuries of the Middle Ages.
Thanks to saved Antique ager, adjusted
municipal structure and a new strategic position it became the most
important city between the Kvarner
islands and Kaštela
Bay. Byzantine Dalmatia wasn't territorially
unified, but an alliance of city municipalities headed by Zadar,
and the large degree of city autonomy allowed the development of
Dalmatian cities as free communes.
Forced to turn their attention seawards,
the inhabitants of Zadar focused on shipping, and the city became a
naval power to rival Venice
. The
citizens were
Dalmatian language
speakers, but from the 7th century
Croatian language started to spread in a
region, becoming predominant in the inland and the islands to the
end of the 9th century.
Zadar in the Medieval period

Political map of the western Balkans
in 925 AD
The Mediterranean and Adriatic cities developed signaficiantly
during a period of peace from the last decencies of the 9th to the
middle of the 10th century. Especially favorable conditions for
navigation in the Adriatic Sea occurred since the
Saracen breaks had finished. Also adjusting of
relations with the
Croats enabled Zadar
merchants to trade with its rich agriculture hinterland where the
Kingdom of Croatia had
formed, and trade and political links with Zadar began to develop.
Croatian settlers began to arrive, becoming commonplace by the 10th
century, occupying all city classes, as well as important titles,
like priors, judges, priests and others. In 925,
Tomislav, the Duke of Croatian
Dalmatia, united Croatian
Dalmatia and
Pannonia establishing the
Croatian Kingdom. He also was
granted the position of protector of Dalmatia (the cities) by the
Byzantine Emperor. He thus politically united the Dalmatian cities
with their hinterland.
At the time of the Zadar medieval development, the city became a
threat to Venice's ambitions, because of its strategic position at
the centre of the eastern Adriatic coast.
In 998 Zadar sought Venetian protection against the
Neretvian pirates.
The Venetians were
quick to fully exploit this opportunity: in 998 a fleet commanded
by Doge Pietro Orseolo II, after having defeated
pirates, landed in Korčula
and Lastovo
. Dalmatia was taken by surprise and offered
little serious resistance.
Trogir
was the
exception and was subjected to Venetian rule only after a bloody
struggle, whereas the Republic of
Dubrovnik was forced to pay tribute. Tribute paid by
Zadar to Croatian kings earlier, was redirected to Venice, which
lasted for a few years.

Coat of Arms of Zadar.
Zadar citizens started to work for the full indepedence of Zadar
and from the 30's of the 11th century the city was just formally a
vasal to the Byzantine Empire. The head of this movement was the
mightiest Zadar patrician family - Madi. After negotiations with
Byzantium, Zadar was attached to the Croatian state led by king
Petar Krešimir IV
in 1069. Later, after the death of king
Dmitar Zvonimir in 1089 and ensuing dynastic
run-ins, in 1105 Zadar accepted the rule of the first
Croato-Hungarian king Coloman.
In the meantime Venice developed into a true trading force in the
Adriatic and started attacks onZadar. The city was repeatedly
invaded by Venice between 1111 and 1154 and then once more between
1160 and 1183, when it finally rebelled, pleading to the Pope and
to the Croato-Hungarian throne for protection.
Siege of the city in 1202
Zadar was especially devastated in 1202 after the Venetian
Doge Enrico Dandolo used the Crusaders, on
their
Fourth Crusade to
Palestine, to lay siege to the city.
The crusaders were obliged to pay Venice for sea
transport to Egypt
. As
they weren't able to produce enough money, Venetians used them for
the
Siege of Zadar, when the city was
ransacked, demolished and robbed. The king of Croatia and Hungary,
Emeric of Hungary, condemned the
crusade, because of an argument about the possible heresy committed
by the God's army in attacking a Christian city. Nonetheless, Zadar
was devastated and captured, with the population escaped to
surroundings.
Pope Innocent III
excommunicated the Venetians and crusaders involved in the
siege.
Two years
later (1204), under the leadership of the Croatian nobleman Domald
from Šibenik
, most of the refugees returned and liberated the
city from remains of the crusaders. In 1204 Domald was
comes (prince) of Zadar, but next year (1205) Venetian
authority was re-established and peace agreement signed in hard
conditions for the citizens. The only profit of the Communal
Council of Zadar was one third of the city's harbour taxes,
probably insufficient even for the most indispensable communal
necessities.
.jpg/130px-Simeon_Schrein_(Zadar).jpg)
Chest of St. Simon
This did not break the spirit of the city, however. Its commerce
was suffering due to a lack of autonomy under Venice, while enjoyed
considerable autonomy under much more feudal Croatian-Hungarian
Kingdom. A number of insurrections followed (1242-1243, 1320s,
1345-1346) which resulted finally in Zadar coming back under the
crown of the Croatian-Hungarian king
Louis I by the
Treaty of Zadar, in 1358. After the death of
Louis, Zadar recognized the rule of king
Sigismund, and after him, that
of
Ladislas Anjou. During his
reign Croatia-Hungary was enveloped in a bloody civil war. In 1409,
Venice, seeing that Ladislas was about to be defeated, and eager to
exploit the situation despite its relative military weakness,
offered to buy his "rights" on Dalmatia for a mere 100,000 ducats.
Knowing he had lost the region in any case, Ladislas accepted.
Zadar was, thus, sold back to the Venetians for a paltry sum.
The population of Zadar during the Medieval period was
predominantly Croatian, according to numerous archived documents,
and Croatian language was used in liturgy, as shown by the writings
of cardinal Boson, who followed
Pope
Alexander III en route to Venice in 1177. When the papal ships
took shelter in the harbor of Zadar, the inhabitants greeted the
Pope singing lauds and canticles in Croatian.Even though riddled by
sieges and destruction, the time between 11th and 14th century was
the golden age of Zadar. By its political and trading achievements,
and also his skilled seamen, Zadar played an important role among
the cities on the east coast of the Adriatic. This affected its
look and culture: many churches, rich monasteries and palaces for
powerful families were built, together with the Chest of St. Simon.
One of the best examples of the culture and prosperity of Zadar at
that time was the founding of the
University of Zadar, built in 1396 by
the
Dominican Order (the oldest
university in present day Croatia).
From 15th to 18th century

200 px
After the death of Louis I Zadar came under the rule of Sigmund of
Luxembourg and later
Ladislas of
Naples, who, witnessing his loss of influence in Dalmatia, sold
Zadar and his dynasty's rights to Dalmatia to Venice for 100,000
dukats on July 31, 1409. Venice therefore obtained control over
Zadar without a fight, but was confronted by the resistance and
tensions of important Zadar families. These attempts were met with
persecution and confiscation. Zadar remained the administrative
seat of Dalmatia, but this time under the rule of Venice, which
expanded over the whole Dalmatia, barring the Republic of
Dubrovnik. The Venetians restrained the political and economical
autonomy of Zadar, which, regardless, remained a prosperous city.
During that time
Juraj Dalmatinac,
one of the best known renaissance men, famous for his work on the
Cathedral of Šibenik, was born in Zadar.
Other important
people followed, such as the Lucijan and Franjo Vranjanin, best
known in Italy
for their
sculptures and buildings.

Zadar's "Kopnena Vrata"
The 16th and 17th centuries were noted in Zadar for Ottoman
attacks. Ottomans captured the continental part of Zadar at the
beginning of the 16th century and the city itself was all the time
in the range of Turkish artillery. Due to that threat, the
construction of a new system of castles and walls began. These
defense systems changed the way the city looked. To make place for
the pentagon castles many houses and churches were taken down,
along with an entire suburb: Varoš of St. Martin. After the
40-year-long construction Zadar became the biggest fortified city
in Dalmatia, empowered by a system of castles, bastions and canals
filled with seawater. The city was supplied by the water from
public city cisterns. During the complete makeover of Zadar, many
new civic buildings were built, such as the City Lodge and City
Guard on the Gospodski Square, several army barracks, but also some
large new palaces.
In contrast to the insecurity and Ottoman sieges and destruction,
an important culture evolved midst the city walls. During the 16th
and the 17th century the activity of the Croatian writers and poets
became prolific (
Jerolim
Vidolić,
Petar Zoranić,
Brne Karnarutić,
Juraj Baraković,
Šime Budinić). Also noteworthy is the
painter
Andrija Medulić (c.
1510/1515 – 1563), who, when in Venice, signed his name as "Andrea
Schiavone."
During the continuous Ottoman danger the population stagnated by a
significant degree along with the economy. During the 16th and 17th
century several large-scale epidemics of bubonic plague erupted in
the city. After more than 150 years of Turkish threat Zadar was not
only scarce in population, but also in material wealth. Venice sent
new colonists and, under the firm hand of archbishop
Vicko Zmajević, the Arbanasi (Catholic
Albanian refugees) settled in the city, forming a new suburb.
Despite the shortage of money, the Teatro Nobile (Theater for
Nobility) was built in 1783. It functioned for over 100
years.
19th and 20th century
After the
fall of Venice (1797) with the Treaty of Campo Formio, Zadar come
under the Austria
crown and
once again became united with the rest of Croatia. In 1806
it was briefly given to the Napoleonic
Kingdom of Italy, until in
1809 it was added to the French
Illyrian Provinces. In 1813 all Dalmatia
was reconquered and brought back under the control of the Austrian
Empire.
During this time, it maintained its position as the capital of
Dalmatia.
During the Napoleonic era, the first Dalmatian newspaper,
"Kraglski Dalmatin - Il
Regio Dalmata" (
"The Royal Dalmatian"), was
printed in the city.
After
1815 Dalmatia (including Dubrovnik) came under the Austrian
crown. After 1848, Italian and Slavic
nationalism became accentuated and the city became divided between
the Croats and the Italians, both of whom founded their respective
political parties. There are conflicting sources for both sides
claiming to have formed the majority in this period; in general the
era saw Slavs grow more than Italians throughout Dalmatia,
fostering a distinct national spirit.
Italy (1920-1945)
During 1918, political life in Zadar intensified. The development
of the Declaration movement was underway. The collapse of the
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy led to the renewal of national conflicts
in the city. With the arrival of an Italian army of occupation in
the city on 4 November 1918, the Italian faction gradually assumed
control, a process which was completed on 5 December when it took
over the governorship. The
Treaty of
Rapallo (12 November 1920) gave Zadar with other local
territory to Italy.
The Zadar enclave, a total of 104 km²,
included the city of Zadar, the municipalities of Bokanjac,
Arbanasi, Crno, part of Diklo (a total of 51 km2.
of territory and 17,065 inhabitants) and the islands of Lastovo
and Palagruža
(53 km², 1,710 inhabitants). The
territory was organized into an Italian province.
World War II
Germany with limited Italian assistance
invaded the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941.
Zadar held a force of 9,000 that after
limited fighting reached Šibenik and Split on April 15, a mere 2
days before surrender, with civilians having previously been
evacuated to Ancona
and Pula
.
Occupying
Mostar
and
Dubrovnik, on April 17 they met invading troops that had started
out from Italian-occupied Albania
. On April 17 the Yugoslav government
surrendered, faced with the
Wehrmacht's
overwhelming superiority.
Within a
few weeks, Benito Mussolini
required the newly formed Nazi puppet-state, the so-called Independent
State of Croatia
(NDH) to hand over almost all of Dalmatia
(including Split) to fascist Italy under the Treaty of Rome.
The city became the centre of a new Italian
territorial entity, called
Governorship of Dalmatia, including
the provinces of Zadar, Split and Kotor. In general, this treaty
was recognized only by the
Axis and was,
thus, considered void. For the rest of the world, and, indeed, the
local populace, Dalmatia was under Italian occupation.
Under fascist reign the Slavic population was subjected to a policy
of forced assimilation. This created immense resentment among the
Yugoslav people and the
Yugoslav
Partisan movement (which was already successfully spreading in
the rest of Yugoslavia) particularly took root here.
The Italians used
concentration camps (among
others the Rab and Gonars
camps), and
to suppress the mounting resistance led by the Partisans adopted
tactics of "summary executions, hostage-taking, reprisals,
internments and the burning of houses and villages".
After Mussolini was removed from power, the government of
Pietro Badoglio surrendered to the
Allies, and on September 8, 1943, the
Italian army collapsed and was quickly disarmed. "
Il Duce" was rescued, however, and formed the
Nazi-puppet
Italian Social
Republic in the north of the country. The NDH proclaimed the
Treaty of Rome to be void and occupied Dalmatia with German
support. The Germans entered Zadar first, and on September 10 the
German 114th Jäger Division took over. This avoided a temporary
liberation by Partisans , as was the case in Split and Šibenik
where several Italian fascist government officials were killed by
an angry crowd.
The city was prevented from joining the NDH on the grounds that
Zadar itself was not subject to the conditions of the Treaty of
Rome. Despite this, the NDH's leader
Ante Pavelić designated Zadar as the
capital of the Sidraga-Ravni Kotari County, although its
administrator was prevented from entering the city. Zadar remained
under the local administration of the Italian Social Republic.
Zadar was
bombed by
the Allies, with serious civilian casualties. Many died in the
carpet bombings, and many landmarks and centuries old works of art
were destroyed. A significant number of civilians fled the
city.
In late October, 1944 the German army and a significant amount of
the civilian population abandoned the city. On October 31, 1944,
the
Partisans seized the city,
until then a part of Mussolini's
Italian Social Republic. At the
start of
World War II, Zadar had a
population of 24,000 and by the end of 1944 this had decreased to
6,000. As the city was freed from fascist rule, a number of
Italians were killed by vigilante groups of civilians and
Partisans. Formally, the city remained under Italian sovereignty
until February 10, 1947 (
Paris Peace Treaties).
The city
successfully recovered and became once more an important regional
city in the newly established Democratic
Federal Yugoslavia
.
SFR Yugoslavia (1945-1991)
During this period Zadar underwent intensive reconstruction and
revitalisation, followed by a large increase in both population and
economic power. The Federal government sponsored numerous public
works to this end, including the
Adriatic Highway (
Jadranska
magistrala) which provided a modern road connection to the
rest of the country. Besides the local infrastructure, the SFRY
government initiated the industrialization of the city and nearly
all its factories were either built or significantly revitalized
and modernized in this period. In the 1970s Zadar particularly
enjoyed a high standard of living as international
tourism came to Dalmatia.
However,
during this period the city lost its status as the capital of the
region, with Split
overwhelmingly surpassing Zadar in population numbers, which,
though increasing throughout the 20th century, boomed in the new,
post-WWII, Yugoslavia.
All in all, by the 1990s the city had not only been rebuilt after
the Second World War, but had emerged as a modern and completely
industrialized regional centre, with as yet unsurpassed tourist
numbers, GDP and employment rates, which were, surprisingly,
significantly higher than the present day's. After the death of
Tito, Yugoslavia rapidly began to
destabilize.
The Homeland War (1991 - 1995)
In the early 1990s the tragic
Yugoslav
wars began to devastate the country.
Zadar became a part
of the new Republic
of Croatia
. Its economy suffered greatly at this time
not only because of the war but also due to the shadowy and
controversial privatization process, which caused most of its
prosperous companies to go under.
In 1990, Serbian separatists from the
Krajina region of Croatia just inland from
Dalmatia sealed roads and effectively blocked
Dalmatia from the rest of Croatia. A number of non-Serbs were
expelled from the area and several Croatian policemen were killed
resulting in the
Dalmatian anti-Serb riots
of May 1991.
During the
Croatian War of
Independence,
Krajina
rebels (with the protection of the serbianized
Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) under
Slobodan Milošević's
control) converged on the city and subjected it to artillery
bombardment, in what is now known as the
Battle of Dalmatia.
Along with other
Croatian towns in the area, Zadar was shelled sporadically for
several years, resulting in damage to buildings and homes as well
as UNESCO
protected
sites. A number of nearby towns and villages were also
attacked, the most brutal being the
Škabrnja massacre in which 86 people
were killed.
Connections with Zagreb
were
severed for over a year. The only link between the north and south of
the country was via the island of Pag
. The
siege of the city lasted from 1991 until
January 1993 when Zadar and the surrounding area came under the
control of Croatian forces and the bridge link with the rest of
Croatia was reestablished in
Operation Maslenica. Attacks on the city
continued until
the end of the war
in 1995.
Some of the countryside along the No. 8 highway running north east
is still sectioned off due to
land
mines.
Main sights
Architecture
Zadar gained its
urban structure in
Roman times; during the time of
Julius
Caesar and Emperor
Augustus, the town
was fortified and the
city walls with
towers and gates were built. On the western side of the town were
the
forum, the
basilica and the
temple,
while outside the town were the
amphitheatre and
cemeteries. The
aqueduct
which supplied the town with water is partially preserved. Inside
the ancient town, a
medieval town had
developed with a series of
churches and
monasteries being built.
During the
Middle Ages, Zadar fully
gained its urban aspect, which has been maintained until today. In
the 16th century, Venice fortified the town with a new system of
defensive walls on the side facing land. In the first half of the
16th century, architectural building in the
Renaissance style was continued. Defensive
trenches (Foša) were also built, which were completely buried
during the Italian occupation.
In 1873 under Austrian
rule the ramparts of Zadar were converted from
fortifications into elevated promenades commanding extensive
seaward and landward views, wall lines thus being preserved; of its
four old gates one, the Porta Marina, incorporates the relics of a
Roman arch, and another, the Porta di Terraferma, was designed in
the 16th century by the Veronese artist Michele Sanmicheli. In the
bombardments during the Second World War entire blocks were
destroyed, but some structures survived.
St. Donatus' Church, a pre-Romanesque church from the 9th
century.
St. Mary's Church, located in the old city opposite St. Donatus'
Church.
Most important landmarks:
- Roman Forum - the largest on the
eastern side of the Adriatic, founded by the first Roman Emperor
Augustus, as shown by two stone
inscriptions about its completion dating from the 3rd century.
- Most Roman remains were used in the construction of the
fortifications, but two squares are embellished with lofty marble
columns; a Roman tower stands on the eastern side of the town; and
some remains of a Roman aqueduct may
be seen outside the ramparts.
The chief interest of Zadar lies in its churches.
- St Donatus' Church - a
monumental round building from the 9th century in pre-Romanesque
style, traditionally but erroneously said to have been erected on
the site of a temple of Juno. It is the most important preserved
structure of its period in Dalmatia; the massive dome of the
rotunda is surrounded by a
vaulted gallery in two stories which also extends around the three
apses to the east. The church treasury
contains some of the finest Dalmatian metalwork; notably the silver
ark or reliquary of St Simeon (1380), and the pastoral staff of
Bishop Valaresso (1460).
- St. Anastasia's Cathedral
(Croatian: Sv. Stošija),
basilica in Romanesque style
built in the 12th to 13th century (high Romanesque style), the
largest cathedral in Dalmatia.
- The churches of St.
Chrysogonus and St. Simeon are also in the Romanesque
style.
- St. Krševan's Church - monumental Romanesque church of very
fine proportions and refined Romanesque ornaments.
- St. Elijah's Church (Croatian: Sv.
Ilija)
- St. Francis' Church, gothic styled church, site of the signing
of the Zadar Peace Treaty 1358
- Five Wells Square
- St. Mary's Church, which retains a fine Romanesque campanile from 1105, belongs to a Benedictine
Convent founded in 1066 by a noblewoman of Zadar by the name of
Cika with The Permanent Ecclesiastical Art Exhibition "The Gold and
Silver of Zadar"
Other architectural landmarks:
- Citadel - built in 1409, southwest of the Land gate, it has
remained the same to this day.
- The Land Gate - built to a design by the Venetian architect
Michele Sanmicheli in 1543
- The unique sea organ[37480]
- The Great Arsenal [37481]
- Among the other chief buildings are the Loggia del Comune,
rebuilt in 1565, and containing a public library; the old palace of
the priors, now the governor's residence; and the episcopal
palaces.
Culture
The first university of Zadar was mentioned in writing as early as
in 1396 and it was a part of a
Dominican monastery. It closed in
1807.
Zadar
was, along with Split
and Dubrovnik
, one of the centres of the development of Croatian literature.
The 15th and 16th centuries were marked by important activities of
Croatians writing in the national language:
Jerolim Vidolić,
Petar Zoranić (who wrote the first
Croatian novel,
Planine),
Brne Karnarutić,
Juraj Baraković,
Šime Budinić.
Under French rule (1806–1810), the first Dalmatian newspaper
Kraglski Dalmatin - Il Regio
Dalmata was published in Zadar. It was printed in Italian and
Croatian; this last used for the first time in a newspaper.
In the second half of the 19th century, Zadar was a centre of the
movement for the cultural and national revivals in Dalmatia
(Italian and Croatian).
Today Zadar's cultural institutions include:
Government
The
administrative area of the City of Zadar includes the nearby
villages of Babindub, Crno, Kožino and
Petrčane, as well as the islands of Ist,
Iž
, Molat
, Olib
, Premuda
, Rava and Silba
. The
total city area, including the islands, covers 194 km2.
Zadar is divided into 21 local districts: Arbanasi, Bili Brig,
Bokanjac, Brodarica, Crvene Kuće, Diklo, Dračevac, Gaženica, Jazine
I, Jazine II, Maslina, Novi Bokanjac, Poluotok, Ploča, Puntamika,
Ričina, Smiljevac, Stanovi, Vidikovac, Višnjik, Voštarnica.
Population
Zadar is the fifth largest city in Croatia and the second largest
in Dalmatia, with a population of 72,717 according to the 2001
census. 93% of its citizens are ethnic
Croats
(2001 census.)
Economy
Major industries include tourism, traffic, seaborne trade,
agriculture, fishing and fish farming activities, metal
manufacturing and mechanical engineering industry, chemicals and
non-metal industry and banking. The headquarters of the following
companies are located in Zadar:
The farmland just northeast of Zadar,
Ravni Kotari, is a
well known source of marasca
cherries.
Distilleries in Zadar have produced
Maraschino since the 16th century.
Science
In 1998, Zadar hosted the
Central European
Olympiad in Informatics (CEOI).
Transportation
In the 20th century, roads became more important than sea routes,
but Zadar remained an important traffic point. The main road along
the Adriatic passes through the city. In the immediate vicinity,
there is the
Zagreb-Dubrovnik highway,
finished up to Split in 2005.
Zadrans can access to the highway by two
interchanges: Zadar 1 exit in the north and Zadar 2 highway hub
near Zemunik
in the south. The southern interchange is
connected to Zadar port of
Gaženica by
the
B502 expressway.
Since 1966, a
railroad has linked it with Knin
, where it
joins the main railroad from Zagreb to Split. It has an
international sea line to Ancona in Italy. There is a plan about
the "Adriatic railroad" linking Zadar with
Gospić and Split.
Zadar Airport
is in Zemunik, around 14 km to the east of
Zadar, accessed via the expressway.
Sports

Krešimir Ćosić Hall
The local basketball club is
KK Zadar, and
the football club
NK Zadar. The bowling
club Kuglački klub Zadar is also very successful. Zadar is also the
hometown of Croatian
football player
Luka Modrić.
Krešimir
Ćosić Hall
is new multi-use indoor
arena, built and completed in May 2008 with a capacity for
9,200 people, named after Krešimir Ćosić, "a legend" of
Zadar basketball game.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Zadar is
twinned, or maintains
cultural, economic and educational ties with:
Gallery
File:Zadar_Donat_Forum.jpg|St. Donat's Church and Roman
ForumFile:Zadar_Forum.jpg|Roman Forum in Zadar
File:Zadar_Sveta_Stosija.jpg|St.
Anastasia Cathedral/sv.
Stošija
in ZadarFile:Zadar_SvMarija.jpg|St. Mary's
ChurchFile:Zadar_SvSimun.jpg|St. Simeon's
ChurchFile:Zadar_SvSimun_oltar.jpg|St. Simeon/sv.
ŠimunFile:Zadar_PortaMarina.jpg|Morska vrata/Porta
marinaFile:Zadar_Sveuciliste.jpg|University of Zadar (1396)
See also
References
- Mate Suić: O imenu Zadra, Zadar Zbornik, Matica
Hrvatska, Zagreb 1964
- M.Suić: Prošlost Zadra 1, Zadar u starom vijeku,
Filozofski Fakultet Zadar, 1981
- M. Suić, Prošlost Zadra I, Zadar u starom vijeku, Filozofski
fakultet Zadar, 1981, pages 61-113
- V. Graovac, Populacijski razvoj Zadra, Sveučilište u Zadru,
2004, page 52
- M. Suić, Liburnija i Liburni, VAMZ, 3.S., XXIV-XXV,1991-92, UDK
931/939 (36)"6/9", pages 55-66
- M. Suić, Prošlost Zadra I, Zadar u starom vijeku, Filozofski
fakultet Zadar, 1981, pages 127-130
- Z. Strika, Kako i gdje se prvi put spominje zadarski biskup?,
Radovi HAZU u Zadru, sv. 46/2004, UDK 262.12"2/3"(497.5) Zadar, p.
31-64
- V. Graovac, Populacijski razvoj Zadra, Sveučilište u Zadru,
Geoadria, Vol. 9, No. 1, UDK: 314.8(497.5 Zadar), page 53]
- G. Novak, Uprava i podjela, Zbornik FF u Zagrebu I, 1951, pages
83-85
- Britannica 1911: Dalmatia
- Nada Klaić, Ivo Petricioli, Prošlost Zadra – knjiga II, Zadar u
srednjem vijeku do 1409., Filozofski fakultet Zadar, 1976, page
59
- Nada Klaić, Ivo Petricioli, Prošlost Zadra II, Zadar u srednjem
vijeku do 1409., Filozofski fakultet Zadar, 1976, page 84
- Britannica 1911: Zara
- Britannica 1911: Illyria
- N. Klaić, I. Petricioli, Prošlost Zadra II, Zadar u srednjem
vijeku do 1409., Filozofski fakultet Zadar, 1976, pages 86-94
- N. Klaić, I. Petricioli, Zadar u srednjem vijeku do 1409.,
Prošlost Zadra - knjiga II, Filozofski fakultet Zadar, 1976, pages
179-184
- N. Klaić, I. Petricioli, Zadar u srednjem vijeku do 1409.,
Prošlost Zadra - knjiga II, Filozofski fakultet Zadar, 1976, pages
215-222
- A. Strgačić, Hrvatski jezik i glagoljica u crkvenim ustanovama,
Zbornik Zadar, Matica Hrvatska, Zagreb, 1964, page 386
- N. Klaić, I. Petricioli, Zadar u srednjem vijeku do 1409.,
Prošlost Zadra - knjiga II, Filozofski fakultet Zadar, 1976, page
216.
- Ante Bralić, Zadar u vrtlogu propasti Habsburške Monarhije
(1917. - 1918.), Časopis za suvremenu povijest 1/2006, Hrvatski
institut za povijest, Zagreb, 2006, p. 243 - 266
- Begonja, Zlatko. Iza obzorja pobjede: sudski procesi “narodnim
neprijateljima” u Zadru 1944.-1946..
- James Gow, The Serbian Project and its Adversaries, p. 159. C.
Hurst & Co, 2003
External links