Croatia
Zadar, Croatia
Zadar, Croatia: Roman Forum, Sea Organ, and Venetian Walls
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The Sea Organ, on the northwestern tip of the old-town peninsula, is the most unusual public artwork in Croatia: a series of thirty-five organ pipes set into the stone steps of the promenade, powered entirely by the motion of waves and tides. The sound it produces is genuinely musical and changes with the sea state — low and contemplative on calm days, more complex in any kind of swell. Alfred Grubišić designed it; it opened in 2005. The Sun Salutation circle, immediately adjacent, captures solar energy during the day and produces a light display after dark.
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The Roman Forum in the center of the old town is one of the largest preserved Roman forums on the eastern Adriatic — more than ninety meters by forty meters of open travertine pavement, with a single standing column from the original colonnade. The Church of St. Donatus, built into the ruins in the ninth century using Roman stonework, is a circular pre-Romanesque building of remarkable ambition for its era; it now operates as a concert hall because the acoustics are exceptional. Guided visits run regularly.
The Church of St. Anastasia, the city's Catholic cathedral, contains a reliquary with the remains of Saint Anastasia herself (brought from Sirmium in the ninth century) and has the tallest bell tower in Dalmatia. The climb to the top takes about ten minutes and gives the clearest view of the old-town peninsula, the islands to the west, and the ferry routes threading between them.
The National Museum of Zadar, housed in a former Franciscan convent, covers the history of the city and surrounding Zadar County from Roman times through the Second World War, with particular attention to the medieval period and the city's rotation between Croatian, Hungarian, and Venetian control. The Venetian loggia on the main square, the longest surviving Venetian loggia in Croatia, is used as an exhibition space and is free to enter.
Good to know
Overview
Large cruise ships berth at the passenger port of Gaženica, 3.5 kilometers south of the old town, where a passenger terminal opened in 2019. Luxury cruise ships and yachts can also use the old passenger port on the peninsula itself, right beside the old town.
- From Gaženica, the old town is a short taxi or transfer ride away; ask your cruise line whether it runs a shuttle.
- If your ship berths on the peninsula, the old town, the Sea Organ and the Roman Forum are all on foot.
- Taxi ranks in town are at the bus station, by the ferry quay on Liburnska obala, and at the far end of the bridge across Jazine bay.
- Croatia uses the euro.
Zadar on Your Own
Zadar's old town fits on a small peninsula, so once you reach it everything is a walk. A good day takes in the Land Gate, the main street, the Roman Forum and St. Donatus, then the waterfront at the western tip for the Sea Organ.
- The Land Gate: The Kopnena vrata, built in 1543 to a design by the Venetian architect Michele Sanmicheli, is the old entrance to the city.
- Kalelarga: The main street, also called Široka ulica, runs east to west from Narodni trg, the People's Square, to the Forum.
- Forum and St. Donatus: The remains of the Roman forum are open to walk through, and the round Church of St. Donatus stands on its northeast side. The cathedral of St. Anastasia is next door, with a bell tower you can climb.
- The waterfront: At the tip of the peninsula, the Sea Organ plays notes as the waves move through tubes under its marble steps, and the Greeting to the Sun, a 22-meter circle of glass plates, lights up after dark.
- Across the harbor: A small rowing-boat ferry, the barkajoli, crosses between the old town and the far side of the harbor for a small fare.
- Carry your passport: Carry your passport with you, and keep a copy of its photo page somewhere separate.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own, and if you are berthed at Gaženica, allow for the ride back.
Getting Around
The old town is small and easy on foot, and Liburnija city buses connect it with the rest of Zadar. Taxis wait at ranks rather than cruising for fares.
- Liburnija single tickets are sold by the driver or at company kiosks, and buses run from early morning until just before midnight.
- Almost every bus route stops at the main bus station.
- The barkajoli rowing boat links the old town with the far side of the harbor.
- Catamarans to the nearby islands leave from the old town quay, while car ferries use Gaženica.
- Some Croatian towns fine people for walking through the center in swimwear or shirtless, so cover up when you leave the beach.
Where to Eat
The old town has small taverns, called konobe, and the city's own drink is maraschino, a cherry liqueur.
- Maraschino, a cherry liqueur made from marasca cherries grown in the Ravni Kotari farmland behind the city, has been distilled in Zadar since the 16th century.
- The Arsenal, a 17th-century Venetian naval warehouse on Trg tri bunara, now houses a restaurant and bar.
- The old town has one supermarket, on Knezova Šubića Bribirskih, for picnic supplies.
Tipping in Croatia
Service charges are generally not added to bills in Croatia, so a voluntary tip is somewhat customary in restaurants, usually 5 to 10 percent, often by rounding up. Croatia uses the euro.
- It is also somewhat customary to round up for taxi drivers, by telling them to keep the change.
Culture & Local Life
Zadar is the center of northern Dalmatia and the fifth-largest city in Croatia, with about 75,000 people at the 2011 census. Its university, founded in 1396 and refounded in modern form in 2002, is often called the oldest in Croatia.
- There are 34 old churches on the peninsula; the oldest is St. Simeon's.
- The Church of St. Donatus no longer holds services and is used for concerts and visits.
- Many people in Zadar spoke Venetian or Italian until the 20th century, and the city was known in Italian as Zara.
- Local people swim and sunbathe along much of the city's coast in summer.
- Unexploded mines remain in some rural parts of Zadar County from the 1990s war, so keep to marked paths if you head inland.
A Brief History
Zadar has been a city for nearly 3,000 years, and almost every power on the Adriatic has held it: Liburnians, Romans, Byzantines, Venice, Hungary, Austria and Italy. It became part of Yugoslavia in 1947 and of independent Croatia in 1991.
- Liburnian Iader: The Liburnians, a seafaring Illyrian people, founded the settlement in the 9th century BC on a stone islet joined to the mainland by a narrow isthmus.
- Roman Iadera: Zadar became a Roman municipium in 59 BC and a colony in 48 BC. It was laid out with a street grid, a forum, baths and a 40-kilometer aqueduct.
- Byzantine capital: After Salona fell in the 640s, Zadar became the seat of Byzantine Dalmatia. Bishop Donatus built the church now named after him around the turn of the 9th century.
- Venice and the Fourth Crusade, 1202: Zadar put itself under Venetian protection in 998 but rebelled repeatedly. In 1202 Venice used the army of the Fourth Crusade to capture and plunder the city.
- Venetian Dalmatia, 1409: King Ladislaus of Naples sold Dalmatia to Venice in 1409, and Zadar became the capital of Venetian Dalmatia. Venice built the walls that UNESCO listed in 2017.
- Austria, 1815 to 1918: After a short French period, Zadar was capital of the Kingdom of Dalmatia under Austria.
- Italy and war, 1920 to 1947: Under the Treaty of Rapallo, Zadar became part of Italy in 1920. Allied bombing in the Second World War devastated the city, and Partisans took it on November 1, 1944. It officially became part of Yugoslavia in 1947.
- Independence, 1991: Zadar became part of independent Croatia after the breakup of Yugoslavia.
- The Sea Organ, 2005: The Sea Organ, designed by the architect Nikola Bašić, opened on the rebuilt waterfront on April 15, 2005.
- To learn more ashore: The Archaeological Museum at Trg opatice Čike 1, founded in 1832 and the second-oldest museum in Croatia, has permanent displays on prehistory, antiquity and the Middle Ages, and the Museum of Ancient Glass at Poljana Zemaljskog odbora 1 traces glass from ancient times to the present.
Traveling with Family
Zadar's old town is compact, which makes it easy with children. The waterfront at the tip of the peninsula is the highlight for most ages, and a short boat ride and a bell tower add variety.
- Younger children: Sit on the marble steps of the Sea Organ and listen to it play with the waves, then cross the harbor on the barkajoli rowing boat, which carries up to 10 passengers.
- School age: The Roman Forum is free to explore, and the Archaeological Museum has permanent displays on prehistory, antiquity and the Middle Ages.
- Teenagers: Climb the bell tower of the cathedral of St. Anastasia for a view over the old town and the sea; it has its own entrance, separate from the cathedral.
- Beaches: Kolovare, close to the center, is a local favorite, and Vitrenjak, near the sailing club, is popular with families.
Accessibility
If your ship berths at Gaženica, the old town is 3.5 kilometers away, so ask your cruise line about accessible transfers before you sail. The seafront promenade along the old town is paved.
- The Sea Organ is a set of marble steps down to the water; you can hear it from the promenade above without using the steps.
- Seeing the view from the cathedral means climbing the bell tower.
- The barkajoli is a small rowing boat, 1.76 meters wide.
- Taxis wait at ranks at the bus station, by the ferry quay on Liburnska obala and across the Jazine bay bridge.
Shopping in Zadar
Zadar has two main shopping areas: the old town, with its many small shops along Kalelarga and the side streets, and the Voštarnica commercial district outside it. Maraschino, the cherry liqueur distilled in Zadar since the 16th century, is the local specialty.
- The Archaeological Museum has its own gift shop.
- Bookshops in the old town sell maps and guides to Croatia.
Beaches
People swim and sunbathe along almost the entire coast of Zadar in summer. The beach closest to the old town is Kolovare.
- Kolovare is close to the city center and a favorite with local people.
- Borik is a large hotel area with water sports and water slides.
- Vitrenjak, beside the Uskok sailing club, is popular with families and has a café terrace nearby.
- The sea is about 25°C in summer.
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