Remains of the Church of St Thomas, Zadar

In the centre of Zadar, on the ground floor of a residential building, the remains of an early Christian church are hidden. Passers-by will be surprised that inside today's business premises stand the columns of a basilica more than fifteen centuries old.

It is a three-aisled basilica from the 5th century which in history bore the names of St Sylvester and the Holy Cross. At the beginning of the 19th century it was converted into a school, and today a bank is housed in it. Seven columns with cubic capitals in each row of the arcades can be seen, along with a semicircular apse. Three portals have survived on the facade: the central one has Gothic features, and the side ones end in a semicircular arch. The southwest facade preserves three original biforas, windows with two openings.

The remains are a protected cultural property, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-749.

Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence.