Croatian cultural heritage - Business - Hrvatska turistička zajednica

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decorated with other smaller churches and chapels (25).
On a hill next to Nin stands another jewel of Croatian medieval
art, the Romanesque church of St. Nicholas (19). The
role of the parish church today is held by the church of St.
Anselm, a former early Christian and medieval Cathedral
with a bell tower from the 12th century (24). Very valuable
exhibits of the former Cathedral are kept in the treasury of
the parish church, and have on them inscribed the names of
significant donors, such as the princes Šubić (20 & 21). The
archaeological collection houses valuable artifacts dating
from prehistory to present times, with special emphasis on
the Roman and Old Croatian period (23 & 29). The remains
of the old Croatian early medieval ships found in the lagoon
in Nin (28) are of exceptional value.
In the microregions of Zadar, RAVNI KOTARI and BUKO-
VICA, we can also find many valuable cultural and historical
monuments. Among them is a special place with monuments
related to the Knights Templar and Hospitallers in
Croatia. Their centre was in the town of Vrana and the famous
Vrana priory had a crucial role in the management of
the medieval Croatian state until it fell into Turkish hands
in the 16th century. Today all that remains of Vrana are the
walls (37), with the village of the same name along the banks
of Lake Vrana, and important remains of the Turkish khan
(caravanserai), the endowment of Jusuf Mašković, admiral
of the Turkish Armada, born in Vrana.
Today the centre of the Ravni County, Benkovac also boasts
a mighty fortress and an old church (38). Benkovac was an
important centre even in ancient times, as evidenced by the
remains of the nearby ancient Roman city, Asserija (33).
Nearby Benkovac are the old forts Kličevica (34) and Karin
(42), below which there is the Karin Franciscan Monastery,
dating from the 15th - 18 century (39 & 40), which lies in
the deeply indented bay of the Karin Sea in the Adriatic. The
Karin Sea flows through the Strait of Ribnica into the Gulf
of Novigrad Sea, named after the picturesque town of Novigrad,
positioned under an old medieval fortress (31).
The 16th century Orthodox monastery Krupa, whose
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