A to Z of Cathedrals – Z is for Zadar in Croatia

My A to Z of Cathedrals finishes today with Z for Zadar in Croatia…

We flew to Zadar because the air fares were absurdly cheap, our plan was to drive south so we didn’t stay long which in retrospect was rather rude.

Zadar was pleasant but the weather was poor and a couple of hours were just enough to see all of the things that needed to be seen.  In the centre were the ruins of the old Roman Forum and just as in Pula the previous year old bits of Roman buildings, columns and artefacts were strewn about the main square and the adjacent streets and there was an area of what looked like very important excavation work that was completely accessible to the public to go and make their own important archaeological discoveries.

A to Z of Windows – Z is for Zadar in Croatia

The final window in the A to Z.  I posted about Zadar quite recently so no link for this picture.

The rose window developed out of the oculus, a small round window found in Ancient Roman architecture, but it was during the mid-twelfth century with the development of Gothic architecture that rose windows came into prominence.

During the Gothic period, the emphasis in church architecture was on soaring height and a greater sense of light. Taller window-filled churches were made possible by advances in building techniques such as supporting stonework in the form of bars or ribs between glass sections. Tracery allowed windows to become larger and more open, more decorative and elaborate, inside spaces to be more open and brighter.

A to Z of Windows – T is for Trogir in Croatia

We were heading for the town of Trogir, which is about fifteen miles west of Split and which is the best preserved Romanesque-Gothic complex, not only in the Adriatic, but in all of Central Europe and inevitably therefore a UNESCO World heritage site.

It was mid morning when we arrived and the town was already very busy.

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Travels in Croatia – Skradin and Lake Knin

Eventually we found the right way and there was a spectacular approach on an elevated road down to the town that sits next to the Knin Lake, which led almost directly to the Hotel Skadinski Buk that was conveniently located in the centre of the pretty little town.  It was rather overcast and the town wasn’t very busy at all so we found an empty restaurant for a spot of lunch and then set off to investigate.

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Travels in Croatia -Šukosan and Zadar

 

It was getting dark and the sun was sinking but the drive to the nearby village of Šukosan just outside the city of Zadar was surprisingly easy with a nice straight road and with only a little difficulty in the gloom finding the location of the Apartmani Vilma, which was tucked discreetly away behind the main road on a quiet residential street.

This was a curious place, not really a hotel at all but more like somebody’s house with some rented rooms attached.  The owner had been waiting for us to arrive and showed us immediately to a clean, basic but adequate room.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Rule of Thirds, Windows (1)

Skradin, Croatia

Eventually we found the right way and there was a spectacular approach on an elevated road down to the town that sits next to the Knin Lake, which led almost directly to the Hotel Skradinski Buk that was conveniently located in the centre of the pretty little town.

It was rather overcast and the town wasn’t very busy at all so we found an empty restaurant for lunch and then set off to investigate.  At an interesting National Park visitor centre we obtained information about boat trips the following day and then walked slowly around the small town in case we saw everything there was to see too quickly.

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Croatia, Cavtat

As usual the Easyjet flight was late taking off and also arriving so added to its statistic on late or delayed flights that Michael O’Leary delights in gloating over when he provides benchmark statistics in the Ryanair in-flight magazine each month.  Easyjet are frustratingly relaxed about flight times and I think on the whole I prefer the Ryanair approach.

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Croatia, Skradin and Skradinski Buk

It is a driving rule in Croatia that main beam lights must be used at all times and I kept finding this quite difficult to remember.  This rule seemed a bit unnecessary to me because the weather was bright and the driving conditions were perfect but the advice was that it is important to remember because the police don’t like it if you forget and can administer a hefty on the spot fine.

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Croatia, Zadar, Roman Forum and a Wind Organ

I had seen Ryanair flights advertised to Zadar in Croatia for almost a year but in all of that time it was impossible to find available seats but then suddenly there they were and only £20 return which seemed like an absolute bargain that was not to be missed.

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Primosten, Prettiest Town in Croatia?

Continuing north-west with the Dinaric Alps soaring above us inland and catching a few clouds as they rushed in from the sea we stopped at the attractive little town of Primošten which occupies an especially pretty little promontory jutting out from the mainland into the sea.  In the past Primošten was situated on an islet close to the mainland and was protected by walls and towers and it was connected to the mainland by a draw bridge.

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