Five Wells Square, Zadar

Five Wells Square is one of the places definitely worth visiting. It is located in the area in front of the Captain's Tower and the city wall. In the past (up until the 16th century) there was also a deep defensive moat here, and today the place is “adorned” with old wells, after which the square got its name. Five Wells Square is yet another one of the many places in Zadar that tourists love to visit.

During the time when the danger of Turkish attacks persisted, protective structures were built on this site, as well as wells, in case of a prolonged siege of the city. Using the existing moat to bring in water, a large cistern with five wellheads was built. Today this is the Square of the Five Wells. Parts of the aqueduct that carried water directly from Lake Vrana have also been preserved.

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After the danger of war had passed, in the first half of the 19th century, the Austrian commander – General Welden – had the first public park in Dalmatia laid out on the ramparts of the Grimani bastion. Today we know this place as the park with the five wellheads, which has been restored and serves the citizens as a display of a historical period. Many would agree that Five Wells Square represents the most picturesque area in Zadar.

A Few Historical Details about the Square

Five Wells Square was created in 1574, at a time of danger from a possible Turkish incursion. The square was surrounded by a defensive moat on the western side of the bastion, dug in the Middle Ages. In its place, a large cistern for drinking water was built, above which rise decorated wellheads – the wells after which the square got its name.

The square has the shape of an elongated, irregular rectangle and is enclosed on three sides. On the western side rise the medieval wall and the Captain's Tower, while on the eastern side stands a retaining wall, in the middle of which rises the entrance to the City Park, created on the Grimani bastion.

The Grimani bastion is one of the largest and most significant of Zadar's bastions, and its construction began in 1537 as part of the fortifications on the south-eastern edge of the city, designed by the Veronese Renaissance architect Michele Sanmicheli.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Grimani bastion lost its military significance, which later created the conditions for establishing a public park. Today's Queen Jelena Madijevka Park is the oldest public city park in Croatia. It was ceremonially opened on 16 September 1829, and it was established by the city's then military governor, Baron Ludwig Franz von Welden.