Interesting Facts About Zadar

Did you know...

• that during his stay in Zadar the famous film director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) stated that the sunset in Zadar was the most beautiful in the world;

Photo: Ivan Čorić

• that the city of Zadar has the first Sea Organ in the world. It produces sounds using only the power of wind and sea waves;
• Zadar has a shockingly long history of more than 3.000 years, and much of it still on display around town. A walk through town is a walk through time, from the Romans to the Middle Ages and the more recent and turbulent history of the 20th century;
  

• that Zadar has the oldest Gothic church in Dalmatia, the church and monastery of St Francis built in 1221;

Photo:  Church and Monastery of Saint Francis

• that Maraschino is an authentic liqueur from Zadar which, in the 18th century, was exported to almost all European countries and could be found on the tables of their rulers such as George IV of the United Kingdom, Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Russian Emperor Nicholas;

• that Zadar has its own sphinx which hides a particular and very interesting love story by its architect;

• that The Red Cross organization was founded in Zadar as early as in 1878;

• that the old town Land Gate called Foša is the ambitious work of head engineer of the Republic of Venice Michele Sanmicheli. It was built in the 16th century upon the immediate threat of the then-emerging Ottoman Empire. The gate was immediately assessed as luxurious, and later on recognised as the most worthy monument that the Serenissima left in Dalmatia.

Photo: Ivan Čorić

Source: Croatian National Tourist Board, Secret Zadar App