St. Mary's Church

Zadar, Croatia

Church of St. Mary is a benedictine monastery church founded in 1066 on the eastern side of the old Roman forum. 

The benedictine monastery was founded beside an existing church in 1066 by the Zadar noblewoman Čika. The monastery subsequently received royal protection and grants by king Petar Krešimir IV. After becoming a nun later in life, Čika endowed the monastery with two hymnariums and a prayer book, along with other valuable items. Both hymnariums are lost, but the prayer book survived, and is currently kept in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Čika's daughter Vekenega entered the monastery as a nun in about 1072, after the death of her husband Dobroslav. Vekenega, as the first successor of Čika, sought financial aid from the new king Coloman of Hungary to finish the monastery, and to erect new monastery objects. The monumental tower bears Coloman's name and the year 1105. The tower bears the inscription which commemorates the king's entrance to Zadar in 1102. The chapel of the tower also features the remains of frescoes dating from the 12th century. The church bears her tomb, which are decorated by Latin verses.

In 1507, a new Renaissance portal and a southern facade were added by the Korčula-born builder and stone worker Nikola Španić. The interior is decorated by rich baroque motives from 1744.

During World War II, when the city was a part of Italy, the church and the surroundings were destroyed by Allied bombing. The church was rebuilt after the war.

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Details

Founded: 1066
Category: Religious sites in Croatia

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

A Fransway (3 months ago)
The most remarkable collection of chalices, artifacts, sculptures, paintings, and relics from Croatia and around the world. I wish our tour guide would’ve informed me how great this place was as I needed more time for it. Photographs not allowed in most areas of the exhibit. Highly recommend.
Louis and Elaine (8 months ago)
The Benedictine Monastery of Saint Maria is a lovely, working monastery. The nuns sell embroidery, home made liquor and food items. There is also an unbelievable collection of gold and silver religious artifacts many containing relics of Saints. No photography is allowed of the collection.
Bobby C (22 months ago)
A small, simple Romanesque style church located just off the old Roman forum. In the four days that I was in Zadar it was never open, so I'm not sure if it's open to the public. There is a monastery and a small museum attached to the church. There is also a rather large parking lot located right next to it which detracts quite a bit from its old-world charm. Still, it is a nice backdrop for photos, and a picturesque landmark.
Sanjeev Kumar Kambadur (2 years ago)
Beautiful church
Michele Chung (2 years ago)
This is where you see the Silver and Gold Collection of Zadar - Religious Art Exhibition. It opens from 10-13 then 17-19 again every day. There’s an entry fee of 30 kunas for the exhibition. No photography in the exhibition hall. Don’t forget to check out the chapel at the end of corridor of the souvenir shop. Very serene and you get to see the old architecture and archaeological finds. Love the collection, not even religious myself. Just very much in awe with what art meant from 13th-17th century. Intriguing to see how the Catholics preserved body parts of saints. The curation is a bit curious - like separating the arms and feet of the same saint in different cases and areas. It’s also a great opportunity to compare how Madonna and Child were depict in different times by different artists. That’s very interesting too.
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