St Mary's Church and the Gold and Silver of Zadar
On Gingerguide's self-guided Zadar audio tour, St Mary's Church and the Gold and Silver of Zadar 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 religious
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Zadar Zadar guide
About St Mary's Church and the Gold and Silver of Zadar
A Benedictine convent church of royal Croatian roots, with a Romanesque bell tower dated 1105. Its nuns guard the Gold and Silver of Zadar, a dazzling treasury of reliquaries, icons and sacred art.
On the eastern side of the Roman Forum stands St Mary's Church and its Benedictine convent, founded in 1066 by the Zadar noblewoman Cika, a sister of the Croatian king Petar Krešimir IV. Her daughter Vekenega, as abbess, completed the church and raised the fine Romanesque bell tower, which carries the name of King Coloman and the date 1105. A Renaissance portal of 1507 and rich Baroque stucco were added later; the complex, bombed in the war, was rebuilt afterwards.
The convent's great draw is the permanent exhibition of religious art known as the Gold and Silver of Zadar, Zlato i srebro Zadra, arranged across eight halls since the 1960s and 70s. It gathers about two hundred treasures from the eighth to the eighteenth centuries: gleaming reliquaries of gold and silver, painted icons, Gothic carvings and old master paintings, cared for through the centuries by the Benedictine nuns.
Did you know? St Mary's Benedictine convent was founded in 1066 by the noblewoman Cika, a sister of the Croatian king Petar Krešimir IV; its Romanesque bell tower carries the name of King Coloman and the date 1105.
How much time do you need at St Mary's Church and the Gold and Silver of Zadar?
Around ~30 min works well for St Mary's Church and the Gold and Silver of Zadar — 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 St Mary's Church and the Gold and Silver of Zadar?
Yes — St Mary's Church and the Gold and Silver of Zadar 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
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Hear the story of St Mary's Church and the Gold and Silver of Zadar
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