In the 11th century there was wooden fort on the site of current castle, built by Robert Mesnières. It was demolished in the 15th century and the new Renaissaince castle was built in the early 1500s and inaugurated in 1546. It was influenced by famous castles of Loire valley.
In 1590 Château de Mesnières was moved to the possession of Fautereau family. Louis Fautereau enlarged and decorated the castle and built a new chapel. However after the Great Revolution it was used as a prison and later orphanage. The castle was badly damaged by fire in 2004. Today it is restored and open to the public.
References: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.