Zadar, Croatia, in the 1970s

From my dissertation-turned-first book on the city in the 16th century to the present (and back again)

Today, I’ll be sharing a few postcards from one of my very own favourite places of all time—the city of Zadar, Croatia. I have very deep ties to that particular place, which is the place I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation about between 2006-11.

Speaking of my dissertation, defended at the University of Graz, Austria, in May 2011, appeared in print under the title Urban Elites of Zadar: Dalmatia and the Venetian Commonwealth, 1540-1569 (Viella, 2013), and I’m happy to report that it was really very well received.

Moreover, this context—specifically, I’m deeply honoured that Viella will publish a second, revised and expanded edition in due time (I’m going through the proofs these days), hence I’ll be posting a few picture postcards from the place.

A few lines from Wikipedia (references largely omitted):

Zadar, historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian…), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serves as the seat of Zadar County and of the wider northern Dalmatian region. The city proper covers 25 km² (9.7 sq mi) with a population of 75,082 in 2011…

Today, Zadar is a historical center of Dalmatia, Zadar County’s principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, educational, and transportation centre. Zadar is also the episcopal see of the Archdiocese of Zadar. Because of its rich heritage, Zadar is today one of the most popular Croatian tourist destinations, named “entertainment center of the Adriatic” by The Times and “Croatia's new capital of cool” by The Guardian.^[7]

UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list included the fortified city of Zadar as part of the Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar in 2017.

And with these preliminaries out of the way, welcome to Zadar!

Top left: a view of the northern corner of the old town, as seen across the old harbour; top right, a view of the modern parts of Zadar on the other side of the old harbour; bottom left: the belfry of the Cathedral of St Anastasia, part of the remains of the Roman Forum, and Church of St. Donatus (on the left-hand side); bottom right: more remains of the Roman Forum with the Benedictine (formerly nobles-only nunnery of) St Mary.

Below, more images showing these places, with the centre image showing the main entrance of St Anastasia’s.

Below, two panoramic views of the old town as looking south-east. Note that the area in the foreground looks totally different now: the ferry terminal has been moved to the old industrial port (barely perceptible in the background), as were the “normal” operations of the old harbour, which is now used by foreign oligarchs with their yachts. Needless to say, now the locals must also trek a few kilometres to cross the Zadarski kanal to the outlying islands.

Below, another perspective looking more or less due east (note the Velebit massif in the background), with the University of Zadar in the foreground (in the location of the former Dominican gymnasium/seminary abolished by Napoleon after 1797); to the right of the university building is the State Archive branch office that houses an incredible amount of “old” paperwork, parts of which are the basis for my book.

(As an aside, and in case you’re asking: it’s an almost perfect place to do research in late spring: the archive is open from 8 a.m. through 2 p.m., and the Mediterranean is literally outside the reading room; across the archive, though, is also a wonderful research library…needless to say, the food is awesome, too.)

Finally, what would any such posting be without imagery of Venetian fortresses—Trg pet bunara (Five Well Square) with the Captain’s Tower near the Porta Terraferma (Mainland Gate), a masterpiece begun under the direction of Michele Sanmicheli.

So, if you like these images, I may have some more for you…