The Church of St. Donatus ( hr, Crkva sv. Donata) is a church located in

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Its name refers to

Donatus of Zadar Saint Donatus (second half of 8th century Zadar – first half of 9th century), also called Donato of Zara, was a Dalmatian saint who became a bishop and a diplomat for the Dalmatian city-state of Zadar (Zara). His feast day is celebrated on ...

, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the

Roman forum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...

. Originally named Church of the

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, in the 15th century it was re-dedicated to St Donatus. The church is the largest

Pre-Romanesque Pre-Romanesque art and architecture is the period in European art from either the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom in about 500 AD or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the 11th century Romanesqu ...

building in Croatia. It is also an example of the centralised type of the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

period in Europe.

History

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat

(8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

and

Charles the Great Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

(now

Aachen Cathedral Aachen Cathedral (german: Aachener Dom) is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen. One of the oldest cathedrals in Europe, it was constructed by order of Emperor Charlemagne, who was buri ...

), and also to the

Basilica of San Vitale The Basilica of San Vitale is a late antique church in Ravenna, Italy. The sixth-century church is an important surviving example of early Christian Byzantine art and architecture. It is one of eight structures in Ravenna inscribed on the UNESCO ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period. The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism. It has three radially situated

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

s and an

ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...

around the central area, surmounted by circular gallery. The circular shape is typical of the early medieval age in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

. It was built on the Roman forum, and materials from buildings in the latter were used in its construction. Among the fragments which are built into the foundations it is still possible to distinguish the remains of a sacrificial altar on which is written IVNONI AVGUSTE IIOVI AVGUSTO. The use of the church has varied during its lifetime; during the rule of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

it was a warehouse, as well as during the French occupation and under the

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

. After the city was annexed to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, it served as an archaeological museum for a short period of time. The building is currently used as the concert venue for the annual International Festival of Medieval Renaissance Music ( Musical Evenings in St Donatus) because of its acoustics.Official site of the Donat musical evenings
donat-festival.com; accessed 31 July 2018.

Gallery

File:St._Donatus%27_Church_(inside).jpg, Interior File:Zadar Sankt Donat 04.jpg, Aerial view File:Zadar Sankt Donat 02.jpg, Detail File:Church of Saint Donatus, Zadar - September 2017.jpg, With the belltower of

Zadar Cathedral The Cathedral of St. Anastasia () is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Zadar, Croatia, seat of the Archdiocese of Zadar, and the largest church in all of Dalmatia (the coastal region of Croatia). The church's origins date back to a Christian basi ...

File:Church of Saint Donatus, Zadar - September 2017 -2.jpg, As seen in the morning File:St Donatus Roman Foundation 1.jpg, Roman temple ruins used in the foundation

References

Sources

* Jadranka Damjanov, ''Likovna umjetnost 1'', Školska knjiga,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, 1971; * Radovan Ivančević, ''Treso r Artistique de la Croatie'', Jugoslovenska revija,

Motovun Motovun (, it, Montona or ''Montona d'Istria'') is a village and a municipality in central Istria, Croatia. In ancient times, both Celts and Illyrians built their fortresses at the location of present-day Motovun. The name of the village is also ...

, 1986. * Antun Karaman, ''Opća povijest umjetnosti'', Školska knjiga, Zagreb, 2004;

History

Gallery

See also

References

Sources

Further reading