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Church of the Holy Cross, Nin

About 17 km northwest of Zadar lies the town of Nin, which is famous not only for its therapeutic mud, but also for having the "smallest cathedral in the world": The Holy Cross Church of Nin dates back to the 9th century and is one of the best preserved monuments representing sacred architecture from the old-Croatian period all throughout the whole country. In addition, the Holy Cross Church of Nin is the only religious building that has remained unchanged. Being 7.8 meters long and 7.6 meters wide, the Holy Cross Church encompasses just about 60 m². The church ceiling is 8.2 meters high, so it is clearly distinguished from other religious buildings.

The design puzzled residents for quite some time because, although the proportions appear to be almost perfect, the church lacks the essential features of a religious building. The Holy Cross Church has a special feature, however. The angles and the windows of the Holy Cross Church are so specially oriented that they act as a calendar. The incoming rays of light reveal not only the date of the solstice, but also reveal when day and night are equally long - the two days of the year on which day and night are of equal length.

The Holy Cross Church received the name "smallest cathedral in the world" from the British architect Thomas Jackson, who, according to tradition, was said have been struck speechless by the sight of this church. In fact, there is no evidence that the church in Nin was ever a diocese.

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