Site logo
Description

Zadar - Live Cam Croatia - Web Kamera uživo iz Hrvatske - Panorama - Web Cam - Weather Cam

[cs_weather block="true" width="250" height="208" city="Zadar" region="Croatia" units="metric" language="en" format="d.m.Y" size="cspw-small" sicons="color" icons="white" background="color" background_color="#63cbf6" font_color="#ffffff" animation="fade" position="left" shortcode-icon="http://croatiatravelinfo.com/wp-content/plugins/cs_weather/icon.png" ][/cs_weather]

Zadar (Croatian pronunciation: [zâdar]; see other names) is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar County and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Zadar is a historical center of Dalmatia as well as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zadar.

Etymology and historical names

The name of the city of Zadar emerged as Iadera and Iader in ancient times, but the origin of the name is older. It was most probably related to a hydrographical term, coined by an ancient Mediterranean people and their Pre-Indo-European language. They transmitted it to later settlers, the Liburnians. The name of the Liburnian settlement was first mentioned by a Greek inscription from Pharos (Stari grad) on the island of Hvar in 384 BC, where the citizens of Zadar were noted as Ίαδασινοί (Iadasinoi). According to the Greek source Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax the city was Ίδασσα (Idassa), probably a vulgar Greek form of the original Liburnian name.

During Antiquity the name was often recorded in sources in Latin in two forms: Iader in the inscriptions and in the writings of classic writers, Iadera predominantly among the late Antiquity writers, while usual ethnonyms were Iadestines and Iadertines. The accent was on the first syllable in both Iader and Iadera forms, which influenced the early-Medieval Dalmatian language forms Jadra, Jadera and Jadertina, where the accent kept its original place.

In the Dalmatian language, Jadra (Jadera) was pronounced Zadra (Zadera), due to the phonetic transformation of Ja- to Za-. That early change was also reflected in the Croatian name Zadar (recorded as Zader in the 12th century [2]), developed from Zadъrъ by vocalizations of the semi-vowel and a shift to male gender. An ethnonym graphic Jaderani from the legend of St. Krševan in 9th century, was identical to the initial old-Slavic form Zadъrane, or Renaissance Croatian Zadrani.

The Dalmatian names Jadra, Jadera were transferred to other languages; in the Venetian language Jatara (hyper-urbanism in the 9th century) and Zara, Tuscan Giara, Latin Diadora (Constantine VII in DAI, 10th century, probably an error in the transcription of di iadora), Old French Jadres (Geoffroy de Villehardouin in the chronicles of the Fourth Crusade in 1202), Arabic Jādhara (جاذَرة) & Jādara (جادَرة) (Al-Idrisi, 12th century), Iadora (Guido, 12th century), Spanish Jazara, Jara, Sarra (14th century) and the others.[1][3]

Jadera became Zara when it fell under the authority of the Republic of Venice in the 15th century. Zara was later used by the Austrian Empire in the 19th century, but it was provisionally changed to Zadar/Zara from 1910 to 1920; from 1920[4] to 1947[5] the city became part of Italy as Zara, and finally was named Zadar in 1947.

Geography

Zadar faces the islands of Ugljan and Pašman, from which it is separated by the narrow Zadar Strait. The promontory on which the old city stands used to be separated from the mainland by a deep moat which has since become landfilled. The harbor, to the north-east of the town, is safe and spacious.

Climate

Zadar has a borderline humid subtropical (Cfa) and Mediterranean climate (Csa), since only one summer month has less than 40 millimetres (1.6 in) of rainfall, preventing it from being classified as solely humid subtropical or Mediterranean. Zadar has mild, wet winters and very warm, humid summers. Average annual rainfall is in excess of 917 mm (36.10 in). July and August are the hottest months, with an average high temperature around 30 °C (86 °F) or 29 °C (84 °F). The highest temperature ever was 36.1 °C (97 °F) on August 2, 1998. Temperatures can consistently reach over 30 °C (86 °F) during the summer months, but during spring and autumn may also reach 30 °C (86 °F) almost every year. Temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) are rare, and are not maintained for more than a few days. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature around 7.7 °C (46 °F). On January 23, 1963 was recorded the lowest temperature ever in Zadar, −9.1 °C (16 °F). Through July and August temperature has never dropped below 10 °C (50 °F). October and November are the wettest months, with a total precipitation of about 114 mm (4.49 in) and 119 mm (4.69 in) respectively. July is the driest month, with a total precipitation of around 35 mm (1.38 in). Winter is the wettest season, however it can rain in Zadar at any time of the year. Snow is exceedingly rare, but it may fall in December, January, February and much more rarely in March. On average Zadar has 1.4 days of snow a year, but more likely it was that the snow does not fall. Also the sea temperature is from 10 °C (50 °F) in February to 25 °C (77 °F) in July and August, but is possible to swim from May until October, sometimes even by November. Sometimes in February the sea temperature can drop to only 7 °C (45 °F) and in July exceed 29 °C (84 °F).

[hide]Climate data for Zadar (Puntamika Borik)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.1
(62.8)
21.2
(70.2)
22.5
(72.5)
25.8
(78.4)
32.0
(89.6)
34.6
(94.3)
35.8
(96.4)
36.1
(97)
32.0
(89.6)
27.2
(81)
25.0
(77)
18.7
(65.7)
36.1
(97)
Average high °C (°F) 10.0
(50)
11.0
(51.8)
13.4
(56.1)
17.4
(63.3)
22.4
(72.3)
26.5
(79.7)
29.8
(85.6)
29.2
(84.6)
25.1
(77.2)
20.0
(68)
14.9
(58.8)
11.2
(52.2)
19.24
(66.63)
Daily mean °C (°F) 7.7
(45.9)
8.1
(46.6)
10.4
(50.7)
13.9
(57)
18.6
(65.5)
22.4
(72.3)
25.4
(77.7)
25.2
(77.4)
21.4
(70.5)
16.9
(62.4)
12.2
(54)
8.7
(47.7)
15.91
(60.64)
Average low °C (°F) 5.1
(41.2)
5.6
(42.1)
7.6
(45.7)
10.8
(51.4)
15.1
(59.2)
18.6
(65.5)
21.4
(70.5)
21.1
(70)
18.0
(64.4)
14.1
(57.4)
9.7
(49.5)
6.4
(43.5)
12.79
(55.03)
Record low °C (°F) −9.1
(15.6)
−6.4
(20.5)
−6.8
(19.8)
0.5
(32.9)
3.4
(38.1)
8.2
(46.8)
12.7
(54.9)
11.5
(52.7)
8.0
(46.4)
2.3
(36.1)
−1.8
(28.8)
−6.5
(20.3)
−9.1
(15.6)
Precipitation mm (inches) 78.0
(3.071)
63.3
(2.492)
64.9
(2.555)
63.0
(2.48)
62.2
(2.449)
50.3
(1.98)
31.7
(1.248)
53.6
(2.11)
103.6
(4.079)
109.3
(4.303)
119.8
(4.717)
99.0
(3.898)
898.7
(35.382)
Avg. snowy days 0.7 0.4 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 1.4
Mean monthly sunshine hours 113.7 137.7 185.3 211.0 279.5 306.0 355.2 322.9 243.0 188.8 118.8 106.1 2,568
Source: Weatherbase [6]

History

Prehistory

The district of present day Zadar has been populated since prehistoric times. The earliest evidence of human life comes from the Late Stone Age, while numerous settlements have been dated as early as the Neolithic. Before the Illyrians, the area was inhabited by an ancient Mediterranean people of a pre-Indo-European culture. They assimilated with the Indo-Europeans who settled between the 4th and 2nd millennium BC into a new ethnical unity, that of the Liburnians. Zadar was a Liburnian settlement, laid out in the 9th century BC, built on a small stone islet and embankments where the old city stands and tied to the mainland by the overflown narrow isthmus, which created a natural port in its northern strait.[7]

Antiquity

The Liburnians were known as great sailors and merchants, but also had a reputation for piracy in the later years. By the 7th century BC, Zadar had become an important centre for their trading activities with the Phoenicians, Etruscans, Ancient Greeks and other Mediterranean peoples. Its population at that time is estimated at 2,000.[8] From 9th to 6th century there was certain koine - cultural unity in the Adriatic Sea, with the general Liburninan seal, whose naval supremacy meant both political and economical authority through several centuries.[9] Due to its geographical position, Zadar developed into a main seat of the Liburnian thalassocracy and took a leading role in the Liburnian tetradekapolis, an organization of 14 communes.[10]

The people of Zadar, the Iadasinoi, were first mentioned in 384 BC as the allies of the natives of Hvar and the leaders of an eastern Adriatic coast coalition in the fight against the Greek colonizers. An expedition of 10,000 men in 300 ships sailed out from Zadar and laid siege to the Greek colony Pharos in the island of Hvar, but the Syracusan fleet of Dionysus was alerted and attacked the siege fleet. The naval victory went to the Greeks which allowed them relatively safer further colonization in the southern Adriatic.[11]

 width=

Zadar (Iader) and the other cities of Liburnian tetradekapolis in the age of the Roman conquest

The archaeological remains have shown that the main centres of Liburnian territorial units or municipalities were already urbanized in the last centuries BC; before the Roman conquest, Zadar held a territory of more than 600 km2 in the 2nd century BC.

In the middle of the 2nd century BC, the Romans began to gradually invade the region. Although being first Roman enemies in the Adriatic Sea, the Liburnians, mostly stood aside in more than 230 years of Roman wars with the Illyrians, to protect their naval and trade connections in the sea. In 59 BC Illyricum was assigned as a provincia (zone of responsibility) to Julius Caesar and Liburnian Iadera became a Roman municipium.

The Liburnian naval force was dragged into the Roman civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey in 49 BC, partially by force, partially because of the local interests of the participants, the Liburnian cities. Caesar was supported by the urban Liburnian centres, like Iader (Zadar), Aenona (Nin) and Curicum (Krk), while the city of Issa (Vis) and the rest of the Liburnians gave their support to Pompey. In 49 BC near the island of Krk, the "Navy of Zadar", equipped by the fleets of a few Liburnian cities and supported by some Roman ships, lost an important naval battle against Pompey supporting the "Liburnian navy". The civil war was prolonged until the end of 48 BC, when Caesar rewarded his supporters in Liburnian Iader and Dalmatian Salona, by giving the status of the Roman colonies to their communities.[12] Thus the city was granted the title colonia Iulia Iader, after its founder, and in the next period some of the Roman colonists (mostly legionary veterans) settled there.

The real establishment of the Roman province of Illyricum occurred not earlier than 33 BC and Octavian’s military campaign in Illyria and Liburnia, when the Liburnians finally lost their naval independence and their galleys and sailors were incorporated into the Roman naval fleets.

 width=

The Roman forum remains in Zadar

From the early days of Roman rule, Zadar gained its Roman urban character and developed into one of the most flourishing centres on the eastern Adriatic coast, a state of affairs which lasted for several hundred years. The town was organised according to the typical Roman street system with a rectangular street plan, a forum, thermae, a sewage and water supply system that came from lake Vrana, by way of a 40 kilometres (25 miles) long aqueduct. It did not play a significant role in the Roman administration of Dalmatia, although the archaeological finds tell us about a significant growth of economy and culture.

The new religion Christianity did not bypass the Roman province of Dalmatia. Already by the end of the 3rd ce

Location
Open
Open 24h today Toggle weekly schedule
  • Monday

    Open 24h

  • Tuesday

    Open 24h

  • Wednesday

    Open 24h

  • Thursday

    Open 24h

  • Friday

    Open 24h

  • Saturday

    Open 24h

  • Sunday

    Open 24h

  • 29/03/2024 16:04 local time

Booking.com

Currency Converter EUR/HRK: Fri, 29 Mar.

Region
  • No comments yet.
  • Add a review