Zadar County covers an equal area of ??land and sea with hundreds of islands and one of the most indented coasts in Europe. In its area, in addition to all the colors of the sea, it unites the greenery of the most fertile valley on the east coast of the Adriatic - Ravni kotari, and the rugged hinterland of Bukovica. Here is the mountainous part of Velebit, the mythical Croatian mountains and the hinterland of Lika to the borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the waterways known since ancient Greece for the famous pleasant sapphire (mestral) and fertile valley with the largest freshwater lake in the country, and karst rivers like the pearly preserved beauty of the Zrmanja, people have lived for over 10,000 years leaving testimonies of their life and time. Whether it is cave finds, the remains of Roman forums in Zadar and Nin, magnificent medieval churches or only centuries-old stone buildings of fishermen and farmers scattered in bays and hills, this area tells its history and culture through the millennia.
Surrounded by five national parks and two nature parks, the Zadar region occupies the central part of the Croatian coast. It is known for the variety of content and activities it offers to tourists.
On the sea side, there are two national parks: Kornati and Telascica. The Kornati islands are an archipelago of 140 mostly uninhabited islands scattered across the horizon. Telašćica Bay is located in the southeast of Dugi otok and is known as the safest natural harbor on the Adriatic, so you will be able to enjoy the peace of its green depths only out of season.
On the mainland, there are national parks Plitvice, Paklenica, Velebit and Krka.
Plitvice is a natural wonder of the world, a lace of 16 lakes connected by waterfalls, which change color from turquoise blue to emerald green.
Paklenica is an area of ??the canyons of Velika and Mala Paklenica where you can enjoy only on foot, following almost 150 kilometers of groomed trails. A favorite target of free climbers, Paklenica has more than 300 arranged climbing routes. It is also known as home to many endemic plants and animals
The Krka River Canyon has seven waterfalls, is home to many endangered species and the only falconry school in Croatia. Even in the warmest months, the Krka canyon is pleasantly fresh.
Northern Velebit is a famous botanical reserve and a real wilderness, so we do not recommend visiting it if you do not have mountaineering or mountaineering experience. We recommend that you go upstairs with a guide and the appropriate equipment, because that is the only way you can walk along the Premužić trail.
The interior of the Zadar region is known for its rustic Dalmatian charm. Go picking olives, help the farmers in cheese production or learn how to dry prosciutto first hand. Ilirija travel will help you find accommodation or take you on a trip.
The rich history is visible in numerous archeological sites, from Roman ruins and tombs, to the fortified medieval cities of Zadar, Šibenik, Split. Will you visit them?
Culture
Zadar is the crown of space, a city of ancient roots with the largest explored Roman forum on the eastern side of the Adriatic. Zadar is a three-thousand-year-old city that likes to recall the words of the Byzantine emperor and travel writer Constantine Porphyrogenitus from the 10th century, who, visiting it, wrote in his work "On the management of the empire" that he was "older than Rome".
From its inception during Liburnian, through the Roman municipality to the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it developed as a city. The first written mention of the people of Zadar was found on Pharos (Hvar) as a reminder of the battles with the Greek colonists, when the people of Zadar (Jadasini as inhabitants of Idassa or Jader) in 384 BC. Kr. helping the domicile population suffered a heavy defeat. Rome elevates it to the rank of a colony (Colonia Julia Jader) in 48 BC. Kr. by order of Julius Caesar himself, at least the order for fortification and construction was given by Emperor Augustus. The ground plan of the Roman streets is still visible today from the bell tower of the largest cathedral on the east coast of the Adriatic.
Since the fall of Salona towards the end of the Western Roman Empire, Zadar has been the center of Dalmatia; from Byzantium - the Eastern Roman Empire which was the center of the theme to Austro - Hungary when the Dalmatian Council sat here. The reason is in the fortified city, with its ideal port position, which has been its pride and misfortune for centuries, as well as its fertile and large plain hinterland. The symbol of the strengthening of the city and its significance is the church of St. Donatus, one of the largest 9th-century rotunda churches named so much later after Bishop Donatus who had an exceptional diplomatic-political mediating role between Charlemagne and Byzantium. Centuries were marked by the battle of Venice for power over Zadar, and even by serving the Crusaders in the Fourth Crusade in 1102, when they destroyed it. Finally, the Republic of Venice bought it for 100 gold ducats from Ladislav of Naples, a pretender to the throne who had little chance of doing so, embracing it tightly until the fall of Venice itself before Napoleon. Through the centuries of Venetian-Turkish wars, in times when the Turks knew how to hold all the surrounding area, Zadar was never conquered thanks, among other things, to the powerful system of ramparts crowned by Michele Sanmicheli who fortified Venice, Verona, Corfu…. This was followed by the first and second Austrian rule with a short interval of Napoleon's rule when Zadar was the seat of Marshal Marmonte and the Illyrian provinces. At the time of the Austro - Hungarian rule as an administrative center, the center of industrialization consists of distilleries and liqueur factories in the tradition of maraschino, which according to an ancient Dominican recipe you can try today.
The richness of the heritage from the pre-Romanesque and Romanesque from Sv. Donat, the Cathedral of St. Stošije, the city walls, the renaissance City Lodge and the guard, all the way to modern installations such as the first Sea Organ in the world and Greetings to the Sun that pulsate and are voiced by the play of waves and wind.