Zadar

Zadar 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 71,000 in 2025, making it the second-largest city of the region of Dalmatia and the fifth-largest city in the country.

With its rich heritage, Zadar has become one of Croatia’s most popular tourist destinations, dubbed the “fun centre of the Adriatic” by The Times and “the new Croatian capital of cool” by The Guardian. In 2017, the fortified city of Zadar was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar.

A Brief History of Zadar

The area of modern-day Zadar shows the earliest evidence of human life dating back to the Neolithic. Zadar traces its origins to the 9th century BC as a settlement of the Illyrian tribe of Liburnians, known as Iader.

Roman and Byzantine Eras

In 59 BC, it was renamed Iadera when it became a Roman municipium. In 48 BC, it was elevated to a Roman colony. During Roman rule, Zadar acquired the characteristics of a traditional ancient Roman city, featuring a regular street grid, a public square (forum), and an elevated capitoline with a temple.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, Zadar became the capital of the Byzantine theme of Dalmatia. In the early 9th century, Zadar briefly came under Kingdom of the Franks.

Medieval Struggles and Venetian Dominion

The first Croatian rulers briefly gained control of the city in the 10th century. In 998, Zadar pledged allegiance to Doge Pietro II Orseolo and became a vassal of the Venetian Republic. In 1186, it placed itself under the protection of the Hungarian-Croatian king Bela III. However, in the Siege of Zara in 1202, the Venetians, with the help of the Crusaders, re-conquered and plundered Zadar.

Hungary regained control of the city in 1358, when it was acquired by the Hungarian King Louis I. In 1409, King Ladislaus of Naples sold Dalmatia to the Venetians.

When the Ottoman Empire conquered the Zadar hinterland in the early 16th century, the city became a crucial stronghold securing Venetian trade in the Adriatic, as well as the administrative and cultural center of Venetian possessions in Dalmatia. This fostered an environment where art and literature could flourish. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Zadar came under the influence of the Renaissance, producing many important Italian Renaissance figures such as the painter Giorgio Ventura and the humanist and grammarian Giovanni Francesco Fortunio, who wrote the first Italian grammar. Numerous Croatian writers also emerged, including Petar Zoranić, Brne Krnarutić, Juraj Baraković, and Šime Budinić, who wrote in the Croatian language.

Austrian, French, and Italian Rule

After the fall of Venice in 1797, Zadar remained under Austrian rule until 1918, except for a brief period of French rule and the Illyrian Provinces (1805–1813). It continued to be the capital of Dalmatia. During French rule, the first newspaper in the Croatian language, Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin (1806–1810), was published in Zadar.

Throughout the 19th century, Zadar functioned as the center of the Croatian movement for Croatian cultural and national revival, amidst increasing polarization and politicization of ethnic identities between Croats and Dalmatian Italians.

Under the Treaty of Rapallo in 1920, Zadar was ceded to the Kingdom of Italy. During World War II, it was heavily bombed by the Allies and witnessed the evacuation of ethnic Italians.

Post-War and the Homeland War

Partisans liberated the city on November 1, 1944, and in 1947, it officially became part of the Socialist Republic of Croatia (a federal component of SFR Yugoslavia).

The Croatian War of Independence was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat operations by 1992.

In 1991, local Serb rebels and the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) attacked Zadar, which found itself on the edge of the occupied territory. Zadar once again suffered severe devastation, and the siege of Zadar lasted until 1993 when the Zadar hinterland was liberated in Operation Maslenica. Sporadic attacks on the city continued until 1995, when the war in Croatia ended with Operation Storm.

Today, Zadar is a historical center of Dalmatia, Zadar County’s principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, educational, and transportation center. Zadar is also the episcopal see of the Archdiocese of Zadar.

Sources: Wikipedija, hrčak

Photo: Wikimedia