Nin: Croatia's First Royal Capital
Nin is a town in Zadar County, set on a tiny islet barely 500 metres in diameter, connected to the mainland by two 16th-century stone bridges in the shallow lagoon of the Adriatic Sea. The municipality has 2,744 inhabitants (2011 census). Historians place the earliest settlement in the area 10,000 years ago, while the town itself is more than 3,000 years old, making it one of the oldest on the eastern Adriatic.
History Illyrian Liburnian tribes inhabited Nin from the 9th century BC under the name Aenona. Roman rule began in 228 BC, elevating it to a municipium and active trading port. The Croats arrived in the 8th century. From the 9th to the 13th century, Nin was Croatia's first royal capital and seat of the first Croatian bishopric: princes and kings —Višeslav, Branimir, Tomislav, Petar Krešimir IV, and Zvonimir— ruled from here. The celebrated Bishop Gregory of Nin (Grgur Ninski), whose monumental statue is replicated in Nin and Split, championed the use of the Croatian language in the liturgy against Rome in the 10th century. Ottoman Turks attacked the town in 1571 and 1646; the Venetians, to prevent the Ottomans from using it as a stronghold, ordered it burned in 1646, causing the complete evacuation of the population.
Heritage and balneology The Church of the Holy Cross (9th century) —nicknamed "the smallest cathedral in the world"— is one of the most perfectly preserved pre-Romanesque monuments in Europe. The Roman Temple and the remains of ancient Croatian vessels (Condura Croatica) complete the archaeological heritage. Nin's lagoon has been famous since Roman times for its therapeutic medicinal mud, used to treat rheumatism, skin diseases, and joint ailments.
Points of interest: - Population: 2,744 inhabitants (2011 census). - Distances: 14 km from Zadar (county capital). - Getting there: By road from Zadar; irregular bus service. Zadar Airport 18 km away.