St Donat’s Church

St Donat’s Church is right in the historic centre of the city of Zadar, south of the cathedral, and is part of the Episcopal complex. Its name refers to Donat, the bishop of Zadar, who was turned by medieval legend into a saint. When he built the church in the ninth century, it was consecrated to the Holy Trinity, and the name St Donat was given in the fifteenth century.

The structure and architectural form of St Donat’s Church reflect the complex political situation of Dalmatia during the High Middle Ages. At that time, the city of Zadar and Dalmatia were important territories in the conflicting political ambitions of the Byzantine emperor and the Frankish kingdom. At the beginning of the ninth century, although Dalmatian cities were officially under the authority of the Byzantine emperor, they also enjoyed a measure of autonomy. The Frankish kingdom’s interest in Dalmatia was clear, particularly with regard to Zadar.

The same situation applied to the Church. The Dalmatian Church’s traditions were rooted in the Paleo-Christian era, and it formally recognized the supreme authority of the patriarch of Constantinople, but practised the Roman liturgy.

The diplomatic activities of Duke Paul and Bishop Donat were directed at both rival powers. They travelled to the West, particularly to the Court of Diedenhofen around 805, where they visited Charlemagne. Bishop Donat also travelled to the Court of Constantinople. He is said to have returned to Zadar bearing the relics of the holy martyr Anastasia.

St Donat’s Church was built by the bishop in the ninth century, and is the only monumental rotunda in the Adriatic. This pre-Romanesque church was preceded by the eighth-century St Trinity, which established the later edifice’s circular shape. Placed near the cathedral, on the site of the forum, many fragments from ancient buildings were built into the foundations. The primitive church was arranged around a central hall surrounded by a circular walkway and three apses orientated towards the East. The internal architectural decorations comprised semi-circular niches while the exterior was decorated with low-relief lesenes[1]. During the first half of the ninth century, following his journey to Constantinople, Bishop Donat had the church modified, probably to house the relics he received as gifts during his travels. Thus, the primitive edifice completely changed its shape: a floor was added and a gallery overlooking the circular walkway and the central hall, whose height had been considerably extended. The church was given a circular stairway and surrounded by annexes, so that it was directly linked to the Episcopal palace, which demonstrates its new purpose as Bishop Donat’s residential and private chapel.

St Donat’s Church combined two architectural concepts that were applied in a very short period, and is a monumental rotunda comparable to other palatine chapels of the era, in particular that of Aix-la-Chapelle. St Donat’s Church belongs to two cultural spheres at a specific point in Carolingian and Byzantine history, and is a unique example of this in the architectural heritage of the medieval era.