Kroatië bezienswaardigheden

Het Dominicanenklooster Dominkanski Samostan, dat gebouwd is op de oostflank van de verdedigingsmuren van Dubrovnik naast Fort Revelin, is gebouwd in een combinatie van romaanse, gotische en renaissance-stijlen. Dit is ook terug te zien in een aantal paleizen en kerken in de stad. De kloosterkerk is door de eeuwen heen diverse keren herbouwd en werd in de tijd van de bezetting door Napoleon, aan het einde van de 18de eeuw, als wapenopslag gebruikt. De enkelvoudige beuk van de kerk is tegenwoordig uitgerust met een groot geschilderd gotisch kruis van Paolo Veneziano, daterend van rond 1384. Ook ziet u er de heilige Dominicus door de 19de-eeuwse schilder Vlaho Bukovac, die alom wordt gezien als de beste kunstenaar van Kroatië. En er is prachtig modern glas in lood in de koornis. Het sierlijke 15de-eeuwse gotische klooster omvat een schaduwrijke tuin, die werd gebruikt om de Franse legerpaarden te stallen. Hun troggen zijn nog steeds te zien tussen de zuilen van het klooster. De bron in de tuin leverde het water voor de inwoners van Dubrovnik toen de stad onder vuur lag in 1991.

This Cathedral has two lives: its first life was as the Cathedral of St. Dominus, the mausoleum dedicated to Diocletian. Diocletian was known for his brutal persecution of Christians after a campaign to get rid of Christianity. Ironically, what Diocletian built to glorify his memory was used to remember his victims. His body was removed from the mausoleum in the 7th century, with no record of where his remains are now. Today, the cathedral is a popular meeting place because of its proximity to the Silver Gate at Diocletian's Palace (it leads to Hrjvojeva Street). The courtyard is the location for Split's Summer Festival in July and August.

Its second life is now as the Cathedral of St Duje, a shrine to St Dominus. St Duje was the patron saint of Split, who was a 3rd-century Bishop of Salona in Dalmatia.

There are four different gates or access points to enter Split's historic core, all named after four different metals.

The best starting point is the Bronze Gate, which opens outward from the palace's southern area to Split's Riva (harbor-front promenade). Inside, it leads to the podrum, or basement, where support staff cooked meals for Diocletian and his guests. The cryptoporticus (gallery) that runs east-west from the Bronze Gate was an open promenade. The part of the podrum that extends from the Bronze Gate toward the steps to the Peristil above is a brick-lined marketplace filled with merchants and craftspeople selling souvenirs. The podrum connects to the Peristil, Split’s main square. The Silver Gate can be accessed from the eastern wall, where you’ll pass through the jumble of stalls of Pazar, the city's produce market. Be careful accessing this point at night, as it can be crowded.

The dramatic Stone Gate (Kamenita Vrata) marks the eastern entrance to Zagreb’s medieval Gornji Grad (Upper Town) and is one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, providing a useful navigation point for visitors passing between the Upper and Lower towns. The stone-carved arch is more than just a gateway though – local legend has transformed it into a shrine and the adjourning chapel flickers with candles, lit daily by local worshippers in honor of the Virgin Mary.

The origins of the Stone Gate date back to as early as 1266 and today the restored archway forms a key part of the ruins of the ancient city walls. The story goes that the original gate featured a painting of Mary holding baby Jesus and after a devastating fire swept through the capital in 1731, the artwork miraculously survived, appearing to locals like the image of the Virgin Mary was emerging from the ashes.

Encompassing the medieval hilltop settlements of Kaptol and Gradec, Zagreb’s Gornji Grad (Upper Town) is the capital’s historic district, looking down over the modern center of Donji Grad (Lower Town) below. Loosely defined as the area north of the central Bana Jelačića square, Gornji Grad’s lattice of cobblestone streets, pretty medieval squares and lively café culture make it Zagreb’s most picturesque neighborhood and visitors to the city will likely find themselves spending a large portion of their time here.

Stroll along the leafy walkway of the Strossmayer Promenade, where the old city walls once stood; light a candle at the revered Stone Gate (Kamenita vrata), now transformed into a shrine to the Virgin Mary; or pay a visit to the adorably quirky Museum of Broken Relationships. The most famous landmark of the Upper Town is the Gothic Zagreb Cathedral of the Assumption, perched on Kaptol Hill, but other notable highlights include the mosaic-roofed St Mark’s Church.

Verstopt aan de voet van de heuvel Marjan, iets ten westen van het centrum van Split, ligt het strand Bene. Dit is een rustig alternatief voor de drukke stad. Het is ook een schilderachtige plek met rotsachtige kust en pijnbomen. Het is alleen te voet te bereiken. Het is een populaire keuze voor gezinnen in de zomerperiode, mede dankzij het gecontroleerde zwemgebied.

Naast afkoelen in de zee is het strand Bene ook een beginpunt voor kajaktochten, terwijl het omliggende bospark Marjan tennisbanen, voetbalvelden en wandel- of fietsmogelijkheden heeft. Het strand zelf is ook goed uitgerust, met een terrasrestaurant, kleedkamers en douches, kinderspeelplaatsen en een waterbaan.

The modern center of Zagreb might not be as strikingly picturesque as its higher altitude neighbor, but Donji Grad, the ‘Lower Town’, is still the focal point of many visitors’ itineraries, home to several of the capital’s most prominent buildings and museums. The dramatic centerpiece of the Lower Town is Lenuci’s Horseshoe (nicknamed the ‘Green Horseshoe’), a series of eight adjoining parks and gardens that encircle the district’s main public squares and form a scenic walking route around the principal sights.

Starting just south of the central Jelačića Square, the Green Horseshoe includes the 12,500-acre Zrinjevac Park, home to the Zagreb Archaeological Museum and Zagreb’s court buildings; the exquisite English-style Botanical Gardens; and the Mimara Museum, the city’s most important art museum. Nearby attractions include the Cvjetni Trg or Flower square, renowned for its idyllic cafés and colorful flower stands; the Arts and Crafts Museum.

De Sint Donatuskerk in Zadar is prachtig om te zien. De hoge muren omvatten een plein vol met oude Romeinse ruïnes. De kerk werd gebouwd in opdracht van Donatus van Zadar (de naamgever van de kerk vanaf de 13de eeuw), en het pre-Romaanse gebouw dateert uit de 9de eeuw. Het is nu nog een klassiek voorbeeld van Byzantijnse-Dalmatiaanse architectuur.

Door de pakkende en grootse buitenzijde lijkt de binnenzijde wat streng. Maar er is meer dan de kerk, want het geheel is gebouwd op een Romeins forum. U kunt nog steeds de oude restanten van die tijd zien, waaronder twee bewaard gebleven zuilen en zelfs een heilig altaar. De Sint Donatuskerk is bijzonder geliefd door de indrukwekkende uitzichten vanaf de toren, die zicht geven op de zee en eilanden rondom, en een concertzaal die vooral gebruikt wordt vanwege de fenomenale akoestiek.

With its grand neo-Renaissance façade presiding over Roosevelt Square in Zagreb’s Donji Grad (Lower Town), the Mimara Museum (Muzej Mimara) is impossible to miss, but the dramatic building is more than just a pretty face. This is the city’s biggest and most important art history museum, housing over 3,750 works, including paintings, sculptures and crafts, spanning over three millennia. The permanent exhibition is made up of the personal collections of Wiltrud and Ante Topić Mimara, an extraordinary assemblage of artifacts bequeathed to the city in 1987.

Elements of the collection come from all around the world, including Persian carpets, ancient Egyptian glassware, elaborate Renaissance altarpieces and archaeological finds from Greece, Rome and early-medieval Europe. Highlights include an enameled 13th-century crucifix, a series of ancient Far Eastern artworks and paintings by Dutch artists Rembrandt and Ruisdael, Spanish painters Velāzquez and Goya.

A few steps away from the Cathedral of St Dominus and St Duje -- at the end of the street Kraj Sveti Ivan -- is a temple dedicated to Jupiter, named after his father. Roman emperors often made themselves a god. Diocletian was Jovius, son of the top god, Jupiter. This god was highly worshipped during the Imperial era until the Roman Empire came under Christian rule. Emperor Diocletian believed he was a reincarnation of Jupiter and thus positioned this temple directly adjacent to his mausoleum, not St Dominus Cathedral.

When Diocletian's mausoleum became a cathedral, the temple was converted into a baptistery, housing a huge 12th-century baptismal font large enough to immerse someone (as was the tradition in those days). Jupiter is considered to be one of the best-preserved Roman temples in the world. The temple once had a porch supported by columns, but the one column you see dates from the 5th century.

A short cab ride from downtown Split, the Mestrovic Gallery is an art museum dedicated to the life and work of 20th-century sculptor, Ivan Meštrović, who has been compared to Rodin. Formerly Mestrovic’s house and atelier, the holdings now contain 192 sculptures, 583 drawings, 4 paintings, 291 architectural plans and two furniture sets. There are also 168 works of art owned by Meštrović’s heirs.

The house and garden hold some of the artist's best work, including a pair of huge walnut Adam and Eve figures and the powerful bronze Cyclops. Mestrovic's religious art comprises much of the gallery's permanent exhibits. You will discover the family archive found inside the house, which contains letters and personal documents of family members and friends, as well as builder Marin Marasovic’s archives (which include the building of The Most Holy Redeemer Church in Otavice and the erection of the Monument to Unknown Hero on Avala).

The Cetina River flows through 63 miles (101 km) of southern Croatia and drops down 1,260 feet (385 m) as it rushes down into the Adriatic Sea near Split. Over the centuries rapids have formed on the upper half of the river, and it is today fast-becoming a popular white-water rafting and canyoning destination for adrenaline junkies from all over Europe.

Having its source somewhere under the mountains of Dinara and Gnjat, the Cetina wends its way through a spectacular limestone gorge, passing sites of archaeological importance far above in the high canyon, where prehistoric artifacts have been discovered along with Roman shields and medieval agricultural implements. Lower down, the Cetina flows through pastures coated in flowers in spring and the rich alluvial soil fertilizes the vineyards and crop fields bordering the river.

Dubrovnik, aan de Adriatische kust in het zuiden van Kroatië, heeft een van de meest schilderachtige middeleeuwse wijken van Europa. Met kenmerkende rode daken en tegenwoordig nog bekender als filmlocatie van de televisieserie Game of Thrones. Een tour langs de filmlocaties is zelfs een Dubrovnik kustexcursie.

Als u de oude binnenstad van Dubrovnik al heeft bekeken, kunt u gebruik maken van andere kustexcursies zoals kajakken in de heldere Adriatische Zee of het bezoeken van kustplaatsen in de buurt, zoals Cavtat.

U meert aan in één van de drie havens. De haven in Gruz, een wijk op 3 km ten noorden van de oude binnenstad, is de meest gebruikte. Afhankelijk van de grootte van uw schip en de dagelijkse drukte kunt u ook aankomen in de haven van de oude binnenstad of voor anker gaan in de baai en dan vervoerd worden naar de oude binnenstad. Als u arriveert in de haven van Gruz, kunt u een shuttlebus nemen naar de oude binnenstad als dat bij uw reis is inbegrepen. Anders kiest u een bus of taxi, die bij de haven beschikbaar zijn.