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 ser ...

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. Originally named Church of the Holy Trinity, 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 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 (now Aachen Cathedral), and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in

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 ca ...

. 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''. ...

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. 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 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 and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, 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