Page 110 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia

108  CRO A TIA AREA B Y AREA

8 Šibenik and is now a Civic Museum.
This late-Renaissance building
Located alongside the mouth of the river Krka, this houses coin collections,
picturesque city, with its steep streets and arched passages, archaeological finds from the
is a joy to explore. It is first documented in 1066 as Castrum Neolithic to Roman periods,
Sebenici, when King Petar Krešimir IV described it as a triangular tomb finds, early Croatian
sculptures (7th–9th centuries),
fortified town. Between 1412 and 1797, it was ruled by the and a rich archive of historical
Venetians, and the old centre acquired grand buildings and documents about the city and
three large forts as well as bastions on the island of St Nicholas. its territory, many from the
It was a prosperous time and Šibenik became one of the medieval period. There is a
liveliest cultural centres in Renaissance Croatia. Venetian rule statue of the count (1609–11)
on the façade by the entrance.
gave way to a brief period of French occupation until Austria
took over and ruled until 1917. The war during the 1990s R Cathedral of St James
brought about the collapse of local industry, and mass Katedrala sv. Jakova
unemployment. The situation today is much improved. See pp110–11.
P Old Loggia
library with manuscripts Gradska loža
and liturgical material in Trg Republike Hrvatske.
the monastery. In front of the cathedral’s Door
of Lions stands the Old Loggia,
R Church of formerly the seat of the city
St Barbara council, built between 1532 and
Sv. Barbara 1543 to a design by Michele
Kralja Tomislava. Sanmicheli, and restored after it
Tel (022) 214 899. Museum: was damaged during World War II.
Open May–Oct: 9am–1pm, This is a two-storey structure:
5–7pm; Nov–Apr: by appt. the ground floor is an open
The small Church of portico with nine large arches,
St Barbara, behind the the upper floor is a loggia, with
Cathedral of St James Cathedral of St James, a balustrade.
was built around the
R Church of St Francis middle of the 15th cen tury, and
Sv. Frane conserves parts of an older
Trg Nikole Tomaszea 1. Tel (022) 201 building. Irregular openings
480. Open 7:30am–7:30pm daily. make the façade unusual: the
Along the busy seafront, on lunette on the main door has a
the southern edge of the Old statue of St Nicholas from the
Town centre, once stood the workshop of Bonino of Milan
Monastery and Church of (1430). Inside is an altar made
St Francis, founded in 1229 and by a youthful pupil of Juraj
destroyed during a raid in 1321. Dalmatinac, Giovanni da Pribislao,
Some capitals, a few statues, who was obliged to match The 16th-century Old Loggia, designed by
and parts of the arches in the another altar which had been Michele Sanmicheli
cloister remain of the original saved from the previous church.
structure. Towards the middle The church also houses a rich Y Medieval Mediterranean
of the 15th century several and interesting collection of Garden of St Lawrence
new chapels were added on. religious art, with paintings, Monastery (MMG)
The buildings were completely sculptures and illuminated Srednjovjekovni samostanski
rebuilt in the Baroque style texts dating from the 14th to mediteranski vrt sv. Lovre (SSMV)
around the middle of the 18th the 16th centuries. Trg Republike Hrvatske 4. Tel (022)
century. The church underwent 212 515. Open summer: 8am–11pm
complete renovation: the wood- E Count’s Palace – Civic daily; winter: 9am–4pm daily.
en ceiling and the sumptuous Museum Maintained by the children of
gilded carved wooden altars Muzej grada Šibenika a local high school, this garden
were remade, and every wall Gradska vrata 3. Tel (022) 213 880. is one of Šibenek’s most popular
was decorated with paintings. Open 10am–9pm Tue–Sat. attractions. The MMG follows
Inside, in the first chapel on This palace takes its name from a medieval design and has a
the left, is a great organ from the Venetian Count Niccolò varied assortment of flowers,
1762, made by Petar Nakić. The Marcello who built it in the herbs and plants that create a
large cloister has kept its 14th- 12th–13th century. It was the dazzling combination of colours.
century structure and there is a Venetian governor’s residence Capers have been planted in the
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp228–30 and pp240–45

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