Current Time in Zadar, Croatia

Zadar is a historic city on the northern Dalmatian coast of Croatia, built on a narrow peninsula extending into the Zadar Channel. One of Croatia's oldest continuously inhabited cities with a history spanning over three millennia, Zadar combines an extraordinary layering of Roman, medieval, and Venetian architecture with innovative modern public art installations that have earned global attention. The city is increasingly recognized as one of the most rewarding and authentic urban experiences on the Croatian Adriatic coast.

With a population of approximately 75,000, Zadar is the administrative center of Zadar County and a city of considerable historical significance. The peninsula's compact old town, still partially surrounded by 16th-century Venetian walls, contains an exceptional concentration of historical monuments from across 2,000 years of urban development, making it a living archaeology of Dalmatian and Mediterranean civilization.

The history of Zadar begins in the prehistoric period, but the city first flourished as an important Illyrian settlement before becoming the Roman city of Iadera. Under Roman rule the city received a classic urban grid, a forum, temples, and an extensive water supply system. In the medieval period Zadar was the capital of Dalmatia and one of the most important Byzantine and later Croatian cities on the Adriatic. The 12th and 13th centuries brought the city under the influence of Venice, which controlled it almost continuously from 1409 until 1797 and left a deep architectural and cultural imprint.

The Forum of Zadar, dating to the 1st century BC through the 3rd century AD, is one of the largest Roman forums in the Eastern Adriatic, with the preserved Column of Shame and the foundations of the Temple of Jupiter. The 9th-century Church of Saint Donatus, built on the foundations of the Roman forum and using Roman stone, is one of the most remarkable Carolingian architectural monuments in Croatia, its distinctive circular form rising dramatically from the ancient stones. The Cathedral of Saint Anastasia with its Romanesque facade and campanile tower is another centerpiece of the old town.

Zadar's most celebrated modern attractions are the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun, two extraordinary public art installations by the architect Nikola Bašić. The Sea Organ, installed along the waterfront promenade in 2005, uses the energy of the Adriatic waves to push air through tubes and pipes built into the marble steps of the quay, producing an otherworldly and ever-changing musical sound from the sea itself. The Greeting to the Sun, a 22-meter circle of solar panels embedded in the promenade, absorbs sunlight during the day and produces a spectacular light show after dark. Alfred Hitchcock reportedly declared Zadar's sunset over the Adriatic the most beautiful in the world.

Zadar serves as a gateway to the Kornati National Park, an archipelago of 89 uninhabited islands with some of the clearest waters in the Mediterranean, and to the Krka and Paklenica national parks on the mainland. Ferry services connect Zadar to various Adriatic islands and to Ancona in Italy. The city has an international airport with seasonal European connections.

Zadar's combination of extraordinary ancient heritage, innovative public art, beautiful Adriatic setting, and authentic Dalmatian atmosphere, free from the extreme tourist pressures of Dubrovnik, makes it a destination of genuine distinction and growing international appeal.