Zadar is a cultural and economic hub in Dalmatia. The city is pleasant to live in throughout the year while all its grandeur is shown during the summer months. Situated in the heart of the Adriatic, Zadar is the urban center of northern Dalmatia as administrative, economic, cultural and political center of the region with 75,000 inhabitants. The coast is indented, with the islands and untouched nature alluring many boaters to this region. The archipelago counts 24 larger and about 300 smaller islets and rocks, 3 nature parks - Telašćica, Velebit and Vransko jezero and 5 national parks - Paklenica, Plitvice lakes, Kornati Islands, Krka and Sjeverni Velebit classifying Zadar and its surroundings at the very top of the Croatian tourist offer.
As the centuries-long centre of the Ilyrian tribe of Liburni, and the capital of Dalmatia for a millennia, Zadar is a place whose rich spiritual and material culture is best testified to by its walls and numerous sacral monuments, crowned by the symbol of the city: the 9th century Church of St. Donatus, the most monumental Croatian building of the early Middle Ages. Enjoying the protection of as many as four patron saints – Zoilus, Simon, Chrisogonus and Anastasia – Zadar takes pride not only in its abundant archaeological and monumental treasures, jealously guarded down the centuries, but also in the fact that the foundations of the oldest university in the Land were laid here in 1396. Replete with rich archives, libraries and outstanding treasuries of sacral music, Zadar is also the city in which the first Croatian novel was written and where the first newspapers in the Croatian language were printed.
The city of Zadar is an easily reached destination by land, sea and air. It has a good traffic infrastructure through which it is directly connected to other bigger cities of the Republic of Croatia: Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Dubrovnik, with extraordinary accommodation and contemporary service of numerous marinas. Whichever way you want to reach Zadar, the natural beauty of the landscape will not leave you equanimous.
Although it may seem pretentious to describe the Zadar region as an area of divine inspiration, it is indeed a land of singular natural beauty. This claim is best borne out by its numerous national parks. With its mountains, lakes and waterfalls, its canyons, caves, karstic holes and the blue expanse of the open sea embraced by a string of lovely islands full of small welcoming ports and romantic beaches, it is easier to paint this part of the world by the brush than by words. Without forgetting the sound of the sea organ – an architectural wonder on the Zadar waterfront from which, as Alfred Hitchcock once said, one can watch the most beautiful sunset in the world. With a slice of Pag cheese and a glass of the famous Maraschino, a local liqueur made from the native Maraska sour cherry, in your hand, you can enjoy all the blessings of this area and the fruits of this land of matchless, divine inspiration.
