The first date known of the settlement of Templars in Metz is 1133. Between 1180 and 1220 the Templars built an octagonal chapel in Roman style outside. The inside presented a ribbed vault and the nave opens on a square choir and on a little apse. In 1312, as happened for the large majority of Templar places, the preceptory of Metz fell to the hands of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem. In 1556, the chapel was converted in warehouse due to the building of the citadel. Now, a patted cross is still visible onto the lintel of the main door of the chapel.
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.