Zadar tourist information

In the 9th century BC Iader was settled by the Liburnians, a tribe of Illyrians. After 59 BC Iadera (also spelled Jadera) became a Roman municipium, and in 48 BC a colony of Roman citizens. In the early days of the Roman empire Zadar was a flourishing Roman colony; its name Jadera was subsequently changed to Diadora. It maintained its municipal autonomy throughout the Middle Ages.

Upon the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the destruction of Salona in the early 7th century, Zadar became the capital of the Byzantine province of Dalmatia, as well as the governor's headquarters.

In the early 9th century it came under the Franks, while it was given back to Byzantium in 812, under the Peace Treaty of Aachen. In 998, it first sought Venetian protection; for the next four centuries it was formally under Venetian or Hungarian rule, changing hands repeatedly. In the 10th, and especially in the 11th century, although it survived the migration of Slavs, the rulers of the town were the Croats. From 1105, when it recognized the rule of the first Hungarian-Croatian king Coloman, Zadar began to be involved in frequent wars with Venice.

Zadar was under the Republic of Venice between 1111 and 1154 and between 1160 and 1183. An annalist from the year 1177 noted that the joyous people of Zadar accompanying Pope Alexander III on his way to the basilica sang songs of praise 'in their native Slavic language'. It was taken by the Venetians and mainly French knights of the Fourth Crusade in 1202. The Crusaders had promised the Venetians a certain amount of money to pay for ships for transport to Egypt, but when they could not pay, the Venetians diverted the Crusade to Zadar. King Emeric of Hungary had declared that he would join the Crusade, and there was a controversy among the knights and clergy over whether or not a supposedly divine army could attack a fellow Christian. Nevertheless, Zadar was destroyed and taken, and Pope Innocent III excommunicated everyone involved.

After several insurrections (1242-1243, 1320s, 1345-1346), Zadar came under the rule of the Hungarian-Croatian king Louis I (under the Zadar Peace Treaty in 1358). After the death of Louis, Zadar recognized the rule of king Sigismund, and after him, that of Ladislas of Naples, who in 1409 sold Zadar and "his rights" on Dalmatia to Venice for 100,000 ducats.

From this time on Zadar started to decline, because the Venetians considerably limited the town's political and economic autonomy. When in the early 16th century the Ottoman Turks conquered the Zadar hinterland, the town became an important stronghold ensuring the Venetian trade in the Adriatic, as well as the administrative centre of the Venetian possessions in Dalmatia and a cultural centre. From 1726-1733 one part of Zadar is settled by Catholic Albanian refugees.That Albanian settlement is called Arbanasi.

After the fall of Venice (1797) with the Treaty of Campo Formio, Zadar came under Austrian rule under which it remained until 1918, except for the period of French rule (1805-1813), all this time remaining the capital of Dalmatia, under Austria being the meeting-place of the provincial diet.

During the Napoleonic period, under French rule, the first newspaper using the Croatian language, 'Il Regio Dalmata-Kraglski Dalmatin', was published in Zadar (1806-1810). In the second half of the 19th century, Zadar was a centre of the movement for the cultural and national revival in Dalmatia. Its population in 1900, of town and commune, was 32,506; including an Austrian garrison of 1330.

However, under the Treaty of Rapallo, 1920, Zadar was ceded to Italy.

Nazi Germany occupied the city in World War II, as it was once one of the best-fortified cities in the world, and Zadar was bombed 72 times by the air forces of Britain and the United States. Afterwards it was joined with Croatia (at the time in Yugoslavia). Consequently, much of Zadar's Italian population left for Italy as refugees, among whom was Ottavio Missoni, owner of the renowned fashion company Missoni. Coat of Arms of Zadar

Since World War II the city has developed as a strong economic and tourist centre. In 1991. the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) along with Serb paramilitaries converged on the city and it found itself as the subject of shelling. Connections with the capital Zagreb were severed for over a year, the only link being via the island of Pag. Zadar was once again damaged in the war, including its historical bastions and churches. The siege of the city lasted until January 1993 when Zadar again came under the control of Croatian forces. Attacks on the city continued until the end of the war in Croatia in 1995.