Church of St. Donatus

Church of Saint Donatus
Crkva svetog Donata
Location	Zadar, Croatia
Country	Croatia
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Architecture
Style	early Byzantine[1]

The Church of St. Donatus is a church located in Zadar, Croatia. Its 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.^[2] Originally named (and dedicated to) the church of the Holy Trinity,^[3] in the 15th century it was renamed the Church of St. Donatus.^[4]

Church of St. Donatus is the largest Pre-romanesque building in Croatia. It is also one of the most impressive churches of centralised type of the Carolingian period in Europe.

History

The beginning of the building of the Church of St. Donatus was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to be 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 Byzantium and Charles the Great, which is why this church is similar to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen (now Aachen Cathedral),^[5] and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna.^[6] It belongs to the pre-Romanesque architectural period, being an original variation of the architectural form used in the Byzantine buildings of the 9th century.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and it's characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism. It has three radially situated apses and an ambulatory around the central area, surmounted by circular gallery. The circular shape is typical of the early Byzantine age in Dalmatia.^[1] It was built on the Roman forum and materials from buildings used in its construction.^[7] Among the fragments which are built into the foundations it is still possible to distinsh the remains of a sacrificial altar on which is written IVNONI AVGUSTE IIOVI AVGUSTO.^[5]

Its use has varied during its lifetime; during the rule of the Venetians and Turks it was a warehouse, and also during the French occupation and when under the Austrians. After the liberation it was an archeological museum for a short period of time and it now serves as the concert venue for the annual International Festival of Medieval Renaissance Music, also known as Musical Evenings in St. Donatus because of its stark interior and excellent acoustics.^[8]

Gallery

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  Interior

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  Perspective

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  Detail

See also

• Zadar
• Architecture of Croatia
• Church of Holy Salvation
• Church of Holy Cross in Nin
• Pre-Romanesque art and architecture

References

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Donatus' church.

• Jadranka Damjanov, Likovna umjetnost 1, Školska knjiga, Zagreb, 1971. ISBN 953-0-20109-5
• Radovan Ivančević, Treso r Artistique de la Croatie, Jugoslovenska revija, Motovun, 1986.
• Antun Karaman, Opća povijest umjetnosti, Školska knjiga, Zagreb, 2004. ISBN 953-0-21319-0

Further reading

• "The First Croatian State". culturenet.hr. Retrieved 2 December 2012. 

Coordinates: 44°6′56.96″N 15°13′28.11″E / 44.1158222°N 15.2244750°E / 44.1158222; 15.2244750

Landmarks in Dalmatia Zadar St. Donatus' Zadar Cathedral Holy Cross' Paklenica National Park Šibenik-Knin Šibenik Cathedral Kornati National Park Krka National Park Split-Dalmatia Split Cathedral Trogir Cathedral Holy Salvation's Diocletian's Palace Kamerlengo Dubrovnik-Neretva Dubrovnik Cathedral Mljet National Park Islands Hvar Cathedral Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Lastovo Stari Grad Plain