Zadar Cathedral – Cathedral of St Anastasia

Besides the Church of St Donatus, we invite you to visit and explore Zadar Cathedral, the Cathedral of St Anastasia. It is yet another remarkable building. It was built during the Romanesque period, and it is interesting to note that it is the largest church in Dalmatia. It was built in two stages, in the 12th and 13th centuries, on the preserved remains of earlier buildings from the 9th and 11th centuries. Today's cathedral has an even longer history, reaching all the way back to the 4th or 5th century.

The Sarcophagus in Zadar Cathedral

The sarcophagus containing the relics of St Anastasia is certainly the most interesting object that believers from all over the world come to pay homage to. It was commissioned by the Zadar bishop Donatus and is kept in the cathedral on the altar in the north apse, that is, in its left nave.

In November 1202, the city of Zadar was destroyed by the Venetians, with the help of the knights of the Fourth Crusade, when the cathedral itself was also severely damaged. Later, throughout the entire 13th century, the cathedral was restored and completed once again. On 27 May 1285 it was consecrated by Archbishop Lovro Periandar.

The façade of the cathedral is adorned with late Romanesque portals, which in their upper section have small arcades with little columns. Today the façade of this cathedral displays a perfect harmony of horizontal and vertical building lines. The main portal has a Gothic-style relief in its lunette and a dedicatory inscription of Archbishop Ivan from 1324.

Zadar's patron saint, St Anastasia, was paid homage by Pope Alexander III during his visit to Zadar in 1177, and by Pope John Paul II during his pastoral visit to Zadar on 9 June 2003. The Cathedral of St Anastasia offers the best view of the whole of Zadar. See the ticket prices and opening hours of the viewpoint. The height of St Anastasia's bell tower is 62 metres.