Franjevacki samostan i Crkva sv. Franje Asiskog (St. Francis Church & Franciscan Monastery)

Franjevacki samostan i Crkva sv. Franje Asiskog (St. Francis Church & Franciscan Monastery) Review

Dalmatia's oldest Gothic church, consecrated in 1280, is a stellar example of a so-called Gothic monastic church, characterized by a single nave with a raised shrine. Although the church underwent extensive reconstruction in the 18th century, behind the main altar is a shrine dating to 1672; inside the shrine you can see choir stalls in the floral Gothic style that date to 1394. In 1358 a peace treaty was signed in this very sacristy under which the Venetian Republic ended centuries of attack and handed Zadar over to the protection of the Croat-Hungarian kingdom. You can walk around the atmospheric inner courtyard for free, by the way, but you must pay a fee to enter the church itself. From mid-October through March or April, the church may keep irregular hours.