St. Nicholas Church

The St. Nicholas Church, locally known as Crkva Sv. Nikole, lies south of the town of Nin, in the county of Zadar in Croatia.

The small church was built in the late 11th or early 12th century in early Romanesque architecture. It was built on a mound, which is an unexplored prehistoric tumulus, in the middle of the swampy Prahulje field.

Legend has it that whenever a Croatian king was crowned at Nin, it was the coronation ritual that the freshly crowned king would ride out to the mound with a large retinue. He would then climb the mound to be presented to his people and strike a sword to the 4 cardinal points, as a sign of his royal power.

Sometime during the 16th or 17th century, the St. Nicholas Church was crowned with a crenelated tower to serve as a watchtower, due to the danger of Ottoman invasions.

The exterior of the St. Nicholas Church can freely be visited. The church itself is closed. It probably only opens on December 6 each year, when a mass is held to protect sailors and travelers. A cute mixture of a small church and a fortification.

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