Zadar In Your Pocket by In Your Pocket City Guides

WhAT TO SEE

WhAT TO SEE The Sea Organ (Morske orgulje) A-4, Obala kralja Petra Krešimira IV. Spring 2005 saw Zadar gain something absolutely unique: the world’s first pipe organ that’s played by the sea. It’s an art installation designed to let people enjoy the point where urban space meets the sea on Zadar’s new pier for cruisers on the end of the Old Town peninsula. Simple, elegant stone steps have been built on the quayside, perfect for sitting on. Underneath, 35 pipes end in whistles with openings on the quayside above. The movement of the sea pushes air through, and - depending on the size and velocity of the wave - chords are played. As you sit and listen to the ever-changing sounds created by the sea’s energy, you can bask in the sun, watch one of Zadar’s famous sunsets or enjoy the balmy night air. This is proving to be an extremely popular spot for culture and leisure, bringing new life to a new part of the city. The project’s architect was Mr Nikola Bašić, and a team of experts from Zagreb and the island of Murter engineered the organ itself.

The remains, built in a combination of Gothic and late Baroque styles and dating back as far as the 13th century, are close to St Francis’. Remnants of a Romanesque belltower lie in the courtyard. There are current attempts to save it from the ravages of history - Napoleon’s armies converted it into a barracks, damaging the interior, while war damaged the exterior. St Simeon’s Church (Crkva sv. Šimuna) D-3, Trg Petra Zoranića 7, tel. (+385-23) 21 17 05. East of Narodni trg is the church named after the most popular patron saint of Zadar. First built in the 5th century, it has undergone alterations until as recently as 1980, and some find the terracotta and white exterior disappointing in comparison with the other churches. But it has a pleasant Mediterranean aspect, with palms planted outside, and the gilded reliquary of the saint inside is one of Zadar’s highlights (see The Silver Casket of St Simeon). St Thomas’s Church (Crkva sv.Tome) C-2/3, . The remains of this Early Christian church (late 5th century) on the corner of St Chrysongonus’ Square and Ulica Šimuna Kožičića Benje, were knocked down in 1822 to make way for a school, rediscovered in 1969, and the frontage was restored, now forming the facade of a shop. Some of the stone furniture of the interior is now in the Archeological Museum.

Statue of Špiro Brusina D-4. The handsome fellow

staring at a shell in front of the University in Zadar is none other than Špiro Brusina. Born in 1845, he was an expert in natural sciences and founder of ornithology in Croatia. He was also a zoologist, explorer, and cultural and public official. Another curious fact is that he was a leading member in the Croatian chapter of the freemasons. What secrets does that shell contain?

Museums

Greeting to the Sun A-3. Witness this unique chance to

see the latest project in Zadar called ‘A salute to the sun’ by the architect Nikola Bašić, who represented Croatia at the 11th Venice Biennial 2008. This project is in alliance with the Sea Organ project. In making these two projects possible, musician Ivan Stamać and as well as engineer and expert on water hydraulics Vladimir Andročec have both made significant contributions. Statue of Petar Zoranić On St Chrysogonus’ square is a statue of a man with rather muscular legs. This is Petar Zoranić, the writer of the first novel in Croatian. Born in Zadar the son of a family of nobles from Nin. The beauty of the surrounding mountains and the sea was his inspiration and his theme in Planine (“Mountains”), written in 1536, a pastoral romance and a product of the Renaissance in Zadar at that time - a time when the city was under siege by the Turks, but art and culture prospered within.

Zadar In Your Pocket

Stjepan Felber

Archeological Museum (Arheološki muzej) C-3, Trg

Landmarks

The City Cemetery, Heritage Monument (Gradsko groblje) R-3. Cemeteries, most vacationers aren’t exactly thrilled at the thought of them. However it does have to be mentioned some of the highest quality stonework is on display at these sites. The city cemetery in Zadar is proof of that, and to be honest, when you visit on a sunny day it’s really not all that morbid.

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23) 36 38 33/(+385-23) 36 38 30, www.mas-zadar. hr. The museum is one of the city’s newest attractions. It’s housed in the 19th century Cosmacendi Palace and has some outstanding views that overlook the Jazine harbour. The museum contains one of the premium collections of Roman glassware outside Italy, with a cornucopia of goblets, jars and vials retrieved from archaeological sites across Dalmatia. Highlights include the delicate vessels used by Roman ladies to store perfumes, skin creams and essential oils. Also look out for glass cups used to celebrate Mass, and dainty flasks in which holy water was stored. Take the opportunity to see the replica Roman glassware on sale as this is one of the classiest souvenir-stops in the city. QOpen 09:00 - 21:00. Admission 10 - 30kn.

Palaces Deputy’s Palace (Providurova palača) D-3, . Completed in 1607 as the residence of the Venetian Deputy to Zadar, it now houses the Matica Hrvatska (the Central Croatian Cultural and Publishing Society). The building adjoining it at Medulićeva 2 houses the Scientific Department of the National Musem (exhibiting flora and fauna, including sea life, not only of the Zadar region but from all over the world. Open 09:00 - 12:00, 17:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:00 - 13:00. Closed Sun. Admission 5 - 10kn). Knight’s Palace (Kneževa palača) D-3, . Together with the Deputy’s Palace it forms the Regency complex. The oldest Romanesque elements date back to the 13th Century, the courtyard is the oldest example of Classicism in Zadar. The palace is now under reconstruction after damage in the 1990s war.

Stjepan Felber

St Nicholas’s Church (Crkva sv. Nikole) A/B - 3, .

The Museum of Ancient Glass (Muzej antičkog stakla) D-2, Poljana Zemaljskog odbora 1, tel. (+385-

opatice Čike 1, tel. (+385-23) 25 05 42, arheoloski-muzejzadar@zd.htnet.hr, www.amzd.hr. On the Forum square is the low, modern building of the Archeological Museum, featuring artefacts from Zadar’s development from Prehistoric times through to the first Croatian settlements. For a chronological tour, it makes sense to go directly to the prehistoric exhibition on the second floor, which covers decorative ceramics, weaponry and items the seafaring Liburnians brought from Greece and Italy. The first floor covers the Classical period, from the Romanised Liburnians (1st century BC) to the widescale Roman settlement (6th century AD). Artefacts include weaponry, items from local necropoli and sculpture, mosiacs and art created in far-flung parts of the Roman Empire. The collection of 1st-3rd century glassware is wonderful. Also well worth seeing is a reconstruction showing the Forum area in Roman times. In a smaller room are exhibits from the development of Christianity in North Dalmatia in the late Classical and early Byzantine period, and rare artefacts from the invasion of the Goths. The ground floor (early Middle Ages, 8th to 11th centuries) contains exhibits from early Croatian graves near Nin, and stone furniture from churches which did not survive the ages. QOpen 09:00 - 21:00, Sun 09:00 - 13:00. Admission 10 -12kn. National Museum (Narodni muzej Zadar) C-2, Poljana pape Aleksandra III bb, tel. (+385-23) 25 18 51. The Zadar branch of the National Museum traces the urban development of Zadar from the Baroque to the first half of the 19th century: architectural fragments, portraiture, furniture and (particularly recommended) early photography. There are also scale models of Zadar through the ages. The scientific section of the National Museum is kept in the Deputy’s Palace (see Palaces). QOpen 09:00 - 12:00, 17:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:00 13:00. Closed Sun. Admission 5 - 10kn.

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Nassis and Patrizio Palaces (Palače Nassis i Petrizio) D/C -3, . Near St Simeon’s Church in Ulica don Ive

Prodana are two beautiful examples of Gothic-Renaissance palaces, demonstrating how architecture, and in particular the creation of courtyard gardens, flowered during the 14th and 15th centuries behind the city walls, despite incessant bombardment by enemies. Palace Grisogono (Palača Grisogono) D-3, . Another palace near St Simeon’s, on the corner of Ulica don Ive Prodana and Ulica Ilije Smiljanića. The first floor originally consisted of two connected Romanesque buildings. In the 16th Century the first floor was adapted in a combination of Renaissance and Gothic styles. Again, the courtyard is well worth a look.