Church of the Holy Cross ( hr, Crkva svetog Križa) is a Croatian Pre-RomanesqueCatholicchurch originating from the 9th century in Nin.
Description
According to a theory from an art historian Mladen Pejaković, the design has an intentionally unbalanced
elliptical
Elliptical may mean:
* having the shape of an ellipse, or more broadly, any oval shape
** in botany, having an elliptic leaf shape
** of aircraft wings, having an elliptical planform
* characterised by ellipsis (the omission of words), or by conc ...
form designated to "follow" the position of the Sun, retaining the functionality of a
calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...
and
sundial
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
. In its beginning, in the time of the Croatian principality, it was used as a royal chapel of the duke's courtyard nearby.
The church is that of a central type, it features the
Croatian interlace
The Croatian interlace or Croatian wattle, known as the or in Croatian, is a type of interlace, most characteristic for its three-ribbon pattern. It is one of the most often used patterns of pre-romanesque Croatian art. It is found on and with ...
(or simply "troplet") and a carved name of the ''župan'' of Nin "Godečaj".
The church is known under the moniker of "the smallest cathedral in the world",http://www.arbela.hr/hr-nin.html /ref> but it does not actually contain the seat of a
bishop of Nin
This is a list of the bishops of Nin, named after the town of Nin, Croatia. The Bishopric was most likely founded in the middle of the 9th century. Fine, 1991, p. 254Nin, Croatia
* Church of St. Nicholas, Nin
*
Architecture of Croatia
The architecture of Croatia has roots in History of Croatia, a long history: the Croats have inhabited the area for fourteen centuries, but there are important remnants of earlier periods still preserved in the country.
Ancient heritage
Copper A ...
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Church of St. Donatus
The Church of St. Donatus ( hr, Crkva sv. Donata) is a church located in Zadar, Croatia. Its name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the forum (Roman), Roman ...
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Church of Holy Salvation, Cetina
The Church of the Holy Salvation or Holy Saviour ( hr, Crkva Sv. Spasa) was a Pre-Romanesque church in the Dalmatian Hinterland, Croatia, whose ruins are now a historic site. It is located in the small village of Cetina, near the spring of the ri ...
