Information
Landmark: Roman ForumCity: Zadar
Country: Croatia
Continent: Europe
Roman Forum, Zadar, Croatia, Europe
Overview
In Zadar, Croatia, the Roman Forum stretches out under the sun-a remarkable open-air site where worn stone columns still echo the grandeur of ancient Rome’s hold on the Adriatic coast.Built in the 1st century BCE, it’s one of the biggest Roman forums on this side of the Adriatic, its worn stones still anchoring the heart of Zadar’s Old Town.The forum’s roots go back to the 1st century BCE, when Emperor Augustus ordered its construction-a fact still carved into weathered stone tablets on the site.In ancient Iader-what the Romans called Zadar-the forum pulsed as the city’s civic, religious, and commercial heart, a broad stone square where merchants hawked goods, priests led rituals, and officials handled city affairs.After the empire collapsed, it fell silent, and its stones were stripped to build other walls and houses.In the 20th century, excavations revealed the forum’s original splendor-a vast 90-by-45-meter space, among the largest Roman forums in the area, with a Capitolium at its heart dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.Today, only the temple’s base survives.A few Roman columns still rise into the air, while broken pieces of others lie scattered across the dusty ground.Several of these elements found their way into later buildings, including the nearby St. Donatus Church.You can still see patches of the old stone pavement, worn smooth under centuries of footsteps, along with Latin inscriptions that hint at the Roman era.A tall column, once a pillory, stood in medieval times as a place for public punishment.Today, the Roman Forum is an open-air museum where visitors wander at will.At the heart of Zadar’s Old Town, the Roman Forum invites you to wander past weathered columns, temple foundations, and worn stone pavements while imagining the hum of ancient life; it’s framed by landmarks like St. Donatus Church, the Cathedral of St. Anastasia, and the Archaeological Museum, and now hosts concerts, performances, and lively public gatherings that fuse centuries-old history with modern culture-free to visit any time, though guided tours by day bring its layered Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, and medieval past vividly to life.With its well-preserved ruins, central spot, and deep cultural roots, it’s a stop you can’t skip when uncovering Zadar’s rich past-stand there and you can almost hear the echo of ancient footsteps.You might stroll past sun-warmed stones worn smooth by centuries, or sit beneath the open sky for a modern performance-the forum still links you directly to the history of this Adriatic gem.
