Metz, France
4th century AD
Auch, France
1489-1662
Arles, France
963 AD
Coutances, France
1210-1274
Noyon, France
1131-1185
Lyon, France
c. 1100
Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, France
c. 1050
Azay-le-Rideau, France
9th century
Marmande, France
13th century
Saintes, France
1081-1096
L'Épine, France
1405-1527
Bordeaux, France
11th century
Soissons, France
1177
Saint-Gilles, France
7th century
Strasbourg, France
15th century
Le Thoronet, France
1176
Dax, France
13th century
Blois, France
1697
La Sauve, France
1079
Saumur, France
12th century
The Church of St Donatus 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 Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
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 Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. 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.