Zadar

For other uses, see Zadar (disambiguation).

City of Zadar Grad Zadar
View of the old city centre from the bell tower of cathedral St. Stošija
Flag Seal
Country	Croatia
County	Zadar
Government
• Mayor	Dr. Živko Kolega (CDU)
Area
• Total	194 km2 (75 sq mi)
Population  (2001)
• Total	72,717
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)

Zadar (Liburnian: Iadera?, Ancient Greek: Ίδασσα (Idassa), Ιαδειρα (Iàdeira), Latin: Iader, Dalmatian: Jadra, Jadera, Italian: Zara) is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea, with a population of 72,717 (2001). It is the fifth largest Croatian city. 93% of its citizens are ethnic Croats (2001 census).
It is the centre of Croatia's Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Zadar is located opposite 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 the Antique names of the city Iadera and Iader much older roots were hidden, of a name the 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 the later settlers, Liburnians. The name of Liburnian city 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 Ίαδασινοί (Iadasinoi). According to the Greek source Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax the city was Ίδασσα (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 from 1910 to 1920 and finally in 1945.

History

Prehistory

The entire 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 Liburnian settlement, outlined materially in the 9th Century BC, built on a small island 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

Liburnians were known as great sailors and merchants, but also addicted to piracy in the later stages. By the 7th Century BC, Zadar had become an important centre for their trading activities with the Ancient Greeks and safe port for the swift Liburnian galleys. Its population at that time is estimated at 2,000.

The people of Iadera, the Iadasinoi were first mentioned in 384 BC as the allies of the Hvar indigenes in their fight against the Greek colonizers. An expedition of 10.000 men and their 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.

File:Liburna Rome BC31.jpg

Liburnian ship - Liburna, ca. 31 BC

In the middle of the 2nd century BC, the Romans began to gradually invade the region. After 59 BC, Liburnian Iadera became a Roman municipium, while in the first years of the reign of emperor Augustus (48 BC) it became a colony of Roman citizens (mostly legionary veterans) and was granted the title Iulia after its founder – colonia Iulia Iader. From the early days of Roman domination, Iader gained its urban character and developed into the one of the most flourishing centres on the eastern Adriatic coast, which lasted for several hundred years, until waves of marauding tribes battered the region. 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. In 441 and 447 Dalmatia was ravaged by the Huns.

The Medieval Period

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, in 481 Dalmatia became part of the Ostrogothic kingdom, which already included the more northerly parts of Illyricum, i.e. Pannonia and Noricum. In 536 the Byzantine emperor Justinian the Great started a military campaign to reconquer the territories of the former Western Empire (see Gothic War); consequently Zadar became part of the Byzantine Empire.

In 568 Dalmatia was devastated by an Avar invasion, and throughout the century Slavs (i.e. early Croatian and Serbian tribes), its modern occupants, gradually established themselves in Illyria, where, unlike the earlier barbarian conquerors, they formed permanent settlements. Between 600 and 650 the main body of the immigrants occupied Illyria.

In other parts of the Balkan Peninsula, Serbs and Croats quickly absorbed the native population. However, the coastal cities managed to resist immediate cultural assimilation (mostly due to Byzantine influence). This sociologic process was instead to take many centuries to reach completion. Consequently, the rural areas were settled by Croats and Serbs, while the native population, mostly consisting of romanized Illyrians, was either eventually assimilated or migrated to the cities (such as Split, Zadar and Dubrovnik). This gradual, long process took place in the 7th and 8th centuries. Dalmatia was, thus, a region culturally divided between the Romanic Byzantine cities and the Slavic hinterland (though the Slavs did establish coastal cities of their own, such as Šibenik). These two communities were known to harbor dislike for one another, a grievous circumstance which sometimes resulted in disputes. Other Romanic natives (later called Morlachs) took refuge in the mountainous interior of Dalmatia, where they preserved their culture for several centuries.

Zadar survived those turbulent times due its strategic position and its strong defensive system and managed to maintain its Roman heritage (such as its dialect of the independent Dalmatian language).
Because of the destruction of Dalmatia's capital Salona and the relocation of its people to nearby Spalatum (Split), Zadar in time became the capital of the Byzantine Theme (administrative unit) of Dalmatia, and was the seat of the imperial Governor. Byzantium, as the protector of Dalmatia enjoyed a strong military and political presence there, due to the persistent threat of invasion by the new Venetian Republic.

However, the geographical position of Zadar suffices to explain the relatively small influence exercised by Byzantine culture throughout the six centuries (535-1102) of Byzantine rule. It maintained a large degree of autonomy throughout this time. Along with other Dalmatian urban settlements it soon came to resemble a typical medieval commune.

In 806 Dalmatia was briefly occupied by the Holy Roman empire under Pepin, but this was quickly reversed and the cities were given back to Byzantium in 812, by the Treaty of Aachen.

Meanwhile, the Croatian state formed inland, and trade and political links with Zadar began to develop. Croatian settlers began to arrive, becoming commonplace by the 10th century. 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 for the first time. In 998 Zadar sought Venetian protection against the Neretvian pirates, who had settled near the mouth of the Neretva river.

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. Pietro proclaimed himself Dux Dalmatianorum (Duke of the Dalmatians), associating it with his son (carefully agreeing to Byzantine suzerainty).

The Croatian kings meanwhile established their own maritime cities, such as Nin and Biograd na Moru (also later Šibenik). The Church, for its part, was in a state of general confusion; in 1059 at a church synod in Split it forbade the use of any language but liturgies in Greek or Latin, and so accentuated the differences between the Romanic and Slavic population. In the 10th century the cities came back under Croatian administration and Zadar sought independence from Byzantium. In 1069 the city was joined with Croatia by treaty for the second time by Croatian King Petar Krešimir IV the Great.

File:Coat of Arms Zara.jpg

Coat of Arms of Zadar.

Rivalry of Venice and Croatia-Hungary in Dalmatia

In 1099, the Kingdom of Croatia was invaded and forced into a personal union with the Hungarian king Coloman. In 1105 Zadar recognized his rule.

Zadar was repeatedly invaded by Venice between 1111 and 1154 and then once more between 1160 and 1183.

In 1183 it finally rebelled, pleading to the Pope and to the Croato-Hungarian throne for protection, but in the year 1202 the Fourth Crusade began to form in Europe. The crusaders were, however, dependent upon Venice for transportation to Egypt and they were 34,000 marks short of amount they required. Ever the opportunist, Doge Enrico Dandolo instructed the crusader army that for late payment (they were to pay the Venetians out of the first spoils they gained in the crusade) they should lay siege to the troublesome Dalmatian capital. Forced by their lack of money the Crusaders agreed and besieged Zadar. The overwhelmed city soon fell back under Venetian rule.

This did not break the spirit of the city, however. Its commerce was suffering due to a lack of autonomy under Venice. They enjoyed considerable autonomy under the distant, much more feudal Croatian-Hungarian kings. 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.

Zadar's "Kopnena Vrata"

Venetian Republic (1409-1797)

The Adriatic in 1560, with Dalmatia and Zadar

In the early 16th century the Ottoman Turks conquered Dalmatia's hinterland and the city became, in essence, a military stronghold protecting Venetian trade in the Adriatic, as well as the administrative centre of the Venetian conquests in Dalmatia.
From 1726-1733, part of its territory was settled by Catholic Albanian refugees. That Albanian settlement was called Arbanasi.

Napoleonic era (1797-1813)

After the fall of Venice (1797) with the Treaty of Campo Formio, Zadar come under the Austrian 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.

Austrian Empire (1815-1918): the age of nationalism

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 neatly distinct national spirit.

Italy (1920-1945)

In October 31 1918 the population of Zadar rebelled against Austrian rule and raised the Italian flag and on 4 November 1918 the city was occupied by the Italian army. The Treaty of Rapallo (12 November 1920) gave Zadar with other local territory to Italy. The Zara enclave, a total of 104 km², included the city of Zadar, the municipalities of Bocanjaċ, Arbanasi, Črno, part of Diklo (a total of 51 sq. km. 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. Zadar remained under Italian sovereignty until 31 October 1944.

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, 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 and even Knin) to fascist Italy under the Treaty of Rome.
The city became the centre of a new Italian province, called Governorship of Dalmatia. 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 Partisans enjoyed massive support from the locals in Split, and before the reoccupation by German forces, nearly a third of Split's population (including the entire local football team HNK Hajduk) joined the Partisan movement.
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. Italian sources often claim that this was made in order to 'ethnically cleanse' the ancient town and avoid subsequent troubles for the victorious Titoist army. Thousands died in the Allied carpet bombings, and many landmarks and centuries old works of art were destroyed. Many civilians fled to safety in Italy.
In 1944 the partisans entered the town. The city, resettled by Croatians, successfully recovered and became once more an important regional city in the newly established Socialist Federal Republic of 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.

Recent history

After the death of Tito, Yugoslavia rapidly began to destabilize. 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 in the period, not so much because of the war itself, but due to the shadowy and controversial privatization process, which caused most of its prosperous companies to go under. 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. Their aim was to cut Dalmatia off from Croatia and give the remnants of the Yugoslav Navy (JRM) a port on the mainland. Along with other Croatian towns in the area, Zadar was sporadically shelled for several years, which damaged buildings and homes as well as UNESCO protected sites. Attacks in nearby towns and villages occurred, the most brutal being the Škabrnja massacre, where 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 in Operation Maslenica. Attacks on the city continued until the end of the war in 1995.

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 across 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[1]
• The Great Arsenal [2]
• 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, Mountains), 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.

File:Regio Dalmata.jpg

Il Regio Dalmata-Kraglski Dalmatin. Printed in Italian and Croatian.

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:

• The Croatian Theatre House
• The National Museum
• The Archaeological Museum (established in 1830)
• The University of Zadar (refounded in 2003)
• The Maritime Museum
• Permanent Exhibition of Sacral Art
• Croatian Singing Musical Society Zoranić (established 1885)
• Musical Evenings in St. Donatus [3] (established 1961)
• International Choirs Competition (established 1997)
• Arsenal Zadar [4]

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.

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:

• Maraska (food industry)
• Luxardo (the original Maraschino)
• Adria, Mardešić (fish production)
• Tankerska plovidba Zadar (shipping company)
• SAS (machine tools)
• Aluflexpack
• Arsenal Holdings [5] (Tourism)

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

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.

Twinning

Zadar maintains cultural, economic and educational ties with:

• Dundee, United Kingdom.
• Reggio Emilia, Italy.
• Romans-sur-Isère, France.
• Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany.
• Székesfehérvár, Hungary.
• Padua, Italy.
• Iquique, Chile.
• Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.

Gallery

• 
  St. Donat's Church and Roman Forum
• 
  Roman Forum in Zadar
• 
  St. Anastasia Cathedral/sv. Stošija in Zadar
• 
  St. Mary's Church
• 
  St. Simeon's Church
• 
  St. Simeon/sv. Šimun
• 
  Morska vrata/Porta marina
• 
  University of Zadar (1396)

See also

• Archdiocese of Zadar
• Bombing of Zara
• History of Croatia
• History of Dalmatia
• History of Italy
• History of Yugoslavia
• Republic of Venice

Sources

• the "Miroslav Krleža" Lexicographic Institute text about Zadar.
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

History about world

External links

• Zadar Tourist Board
• Zadar Airport
• The University of Zadar
• Old postcards of Zara/Zadar (it.)
• After 2,000 Years, a Croatian Port Town Still Seduces-The New York Times