Historical places in Zadar

Apart from People's Square, See Organ or Greetings to the Sun in Zadar we can find other amazing places. One of them is Church of St. Donat – which is called as a trademark of the city. The church was built in the 9th century and is the only building of this type in Europe. The church has long been used for religious purposes however now because of excellent acoustics it is a main place in Zadar of different performances and famous international festivals. I have an opportunity to be at  Musical Evening in St. Donat. It was a concert of medieval and Renaissance music, and for me it was something fabulous.

Next to the Church of St. Donat we can find Roman forum. It is the largest forum from the Roman times in the eastern part of the Adriatic. The founder of the forum was the first Roman Emperor Augustus. The evidence of this are two stone inscriptions from the 3rd century when the construction was completed. Today, the only surviving original parts of forum are pavement, stairs and two decorative monumental columns.

People's Square and place of Church of St. Donat and forum are connected by Kalelagr street. This is the most famous street in Zadar, some people even say that it is older than the city. Street is full of shops, coffees, restaurants and of course ice-cream parlour. 

Sun and water, the two passions of Zadar

Zadar has an intimate relations with sun and it is not just about the surrounding beaches. It is due to the fact that city every night greeting the sun.  On riva (Seaside Boulevard about which I was writing already) is located installation of architect Nicola Basici called "Greetings to the Sun" (Pozdrav Suncu) imitates the solar system in appropriate proportions.
The most spectacular is our star in the shape of a circle with a diameter of 22 meters. It consists of three hundred multilayer glass panels set at the same level as the paved promenade. By the day it is a gigantic solar cell, which emits colorful light at night.

Near to Pozdrav Suncu we can find the second most popular attraction in Zadar – Morske Orgulje (ang: See Organ). They were built eight years ago in the west part of the Seaside Bilevard. Sea Organ produces  sound which is created by the movement of water. It is quite difficult to describe how does it works, so it would be the best if you see it yourself. I attached you a short film which shows this amazing combination of human skills and nature. Plenty of people sit every day at See Organ and getting relax by beautiful music symphony of sea. 

Here you can listen to see organ in Zadar :)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeGDjvCCkfk

And a picture which shows the part of the riva where see organ and greetings to the sun are located...I miss it so much... :) 

Must see in Zadar - part 1!

As I wrote last time Zadar is one of the most popular Croatian tourist destinations. City offers traveller a number of attractions: ideal accommodation, authentic gourmet delicacies, cultural heritage, modern sports facilities and various excursion programs. Each of us just need to choose the right way for relaxation, favorite sport or entertainment. The most popular part of Zadar is Poluotok (ang. Peninsula) which is surrounded by  by city walls. On Poluotok is located the old town of Zadar – place full of archaeological treasures and monuments. Poluotok can be easily reached not only  by land but also by  bridge. The bridge is one of the most popular meeting point in Zadar. Quite everyone before going somewhere meet each other on this bridge. 

We entered Poluotok by the main gate. At the beginning Zadar has four gates but because of the war now we can see just two. After making several footsteps we are  on Zadar People's Square. This is the center of public life in Zadar from the Renaissance to the present times. The main buildings there are Town Hall, well preserved pre-romantic church of Sv. Lawrence with an atrium, National Theatre and  Ghirardini Palac made in the romantice style with a balcony from the Renaissance (15th century). Glorious tradition of Zadars’ coffee continues today small cafes with open terraces. People's Square is really relaxing place for meetings, as well as numerous events. 

Welcome in Zadar!

I think that I should start this blog with some basic information about Croatia and Zadar. This is a small country – covers just 56,594 square kilometers and has diverse, mostly continental and mediterranean climates. The country's population is 4.3 million, most of whom are Croats. The capital city of Croatia is Zagreb, but my favorite city in Croatia is Zadar. Zadar is located on the Adriatic Sea and is one of the biggest city in Croatia – 5. one. The population of the city is 78,000 people so when we compare it with our polish cities it is rather small one ;) However in Croatia Zadar really counts – not only in in economical and industrial sector but also in touristic and cultural one.

In my opinion Zadar is a perfect place for living, spending retirement (for sure my :p) or at least going on holiday. On my blog I will try to show you all faces of Zadar and all arguments why Zadar is worth seeing.  But you have to be careful – you can very easlly fall in love with this town, the same as did I.

I leave you with the photo of riva in Zadar. Riva in Croatian language means place by the sea where people can have a walk. How much I will do so as to have opportunity to have a walk on riva just right now. Do you like this place? :)