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Church of St. Donatus in Zadar

Photo credit: Zvonimir Hrvoj / Foter / CC BY-SA
Church of St. Donatus in Zadar
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The largest Pre-romanesque building in Croatia

St. Donatus Church Trg Rimskog Foruma 23000, Zadar Croatia
Lots of restaurants in nearby streets, with local and international cuisine, pasta, pizza

Church of St. Donatus (originally St. Trinity) is the most valuable monument of pre-Romanesque architecture of the early medieval period (9th century) in Croatia and symbol of the city of Zadar, due to the particular shape is of one of the most important buildings of its kind in Europe.
By type of construction follows the shape of court churches with circular layout of the early Byzantine to the Carolingian period. However, after its rough monumentality (height 27 and width 22 meters), an unusual cylindrical shape and interior space are distinguished by originality, without some direct models. According to legend, it was built by Zadar bishop Donatus in the 9th century, and is mentioned in the 10th century in famous work “The governance of the state” by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. It was originally dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and the name Donatus began to be called only from the 15th century.



Opening hours

9:00 - 21:00 and with announcement any time

How to get there

Highway Zagreb-Split, exit Zadar, and to the centre of Zadar

Location: