The Sea Organ
On Gingerguide's self-guided Zadar audio tour, The Sea Organ is a stop worth about ~30 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type landmark
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Zadar Zadar guide
About The Sea Organ
Broad white marble steps on the waterfront that turn the sea into music: hidden pipes beneath the stone catch the waves and breathe out soft, ever-changing chords. Opened in 2005 by architect Nikola Bašić.
The Sea Organ, the Morske orgulje, is an experimental musical instrument and sound sculpture built into the Riva at the western tip of the old-town peninsula. Beneath a broad flight of white marble steps that descends into the sea runs a hidden system of pipes of different widths and lengths. As waves and passing boats push water and air through them, the stone exhales a shifting, harmonic drone, so the Adriatic itself plays the music.
It was designed by the architect Nikola Bašić and opened to the public in April 2005, as the centrepiece of a scheme to rebuild Zadar's new coast. In 2006 it shared the European Prize for Urban Public Space. Day and night people gather on the steps to sit, swim and listen, and the same architect's Greeting to the Sun stands just along the promenade.
Did you know? The Sea Organ, designed by architect Nikola Bašić and opened in 2005, plays music through pipes of different sizes hidden beneath its marble steps, sounded by the waves and the wakes of passing boats.
How much time do you need at The Sea Organ?
Around ~30 min works well for The Sea Organ — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at The Sea Organ?
Yes — The Sea Organ made the cut as one of 13 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Zadar. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Zadar
Day 1 of the Zadar in 2 days itinerary →
Updated:
Hear the story of The Sea Organ
Preview the Zadar tour free in the Gingerguide app.