Welcome to Nin - the birthplace of Croatia and the first Croatian royal capital.
You can find its historical center on an islet in the middle of a shallow lagoon, connected to the mainland only by two stone 16th c.
Bridges.
With its long history Nin can easily be called a museum-town, every street filled with the remains of long gone worlds.
Nin was founded by the Liburnians, an Illyrian tribe in the 9th c.
BC and later, around 1st c.
BC, it became important Roman port.
As Croats arrived in Dalmatia in the 7th c, they made Nin the seat of their kings and dukes as well as bishops.
The statue of famous bishop Grgur Ninski (Gregory of Nin) (22:15) can be found (and its big toe rubbed!) in the center of Nin.
It is said that rubbing his big toe will bring you good luck.
Next to Grgur Ninski lies the smallest cathedral in the world and the symbol of Nin - Church of the Holy Cross (24:15), perfectly conserved and completely unchanged from the date it was built in the 9th c.
But that is just one of Nin's famous historical churches!
Just outside of Nin you can find the Church of Saint Nicholas.
After their coronations Croatian medieval rulers would ride with their entourage from Nin to a little church on a hill to be presented to the people.
Today Nin is lovely tourist spot - a romantic royal town resting in the sun in the middle of a lagoon.