(28.02.2019.)
A cold, harsh wind bringing nice and sunny, yet cold weather – the famous bora, especially in the winter time, blows in most part of the Adriatic Croatia, and particularly in the royal town of Nin. Have you heard the legend about the bora? it was written by a famous Nin local, Petar Zoranić in his novel „The Mountains“ back in 1536.
The bora was a beautiful, yet arrogant and brassy
young girl, of noble descent. She thought she was best at everything and she
always had to be above the others. No young man who came to propose to her, met
her terms and she rejected all of them. She would boast with her beauty and
once she went one step further and said she was more beautiful than the
immortal fairies... God heard this and got angry. Due to her arrogance, he
struck her by thunder and threw her into hell. The fairy Mila told this story
to Petar Zoranić who she accompanied on his way, when once the wind was blowing
so hard that it almost knocked the writer down, but the fairy helped him. This
was the reason to tell him the story of the bora wind, what the wind was, where
it came from and how it got its name. The fairy then told Zoranić that the sin
of that girl was passed onto all other girls who were trying to be arrogant and
brassy and every time one of them sinned, she would sigh loudly, remembering
her former happy life. It is from that sigh that the bora came about.
It is that cold wind that sometimes blows in Nin for
days and creates a unique feeling in that beautiful town. Come and see for
yourself how the bora clears the sky and the air and clears the view to the
grand mountain of Velebit. Because of its pure air and Nin's cultural and
historical sights, the monuments and churches shine with a special glow. This
town, more than 3,000 years old, due to the „sighs of an arrogant girl“,will
provide you with a special experience in wintertime. The
Church of the Holy Cross, also called the smallest cathedral in the world, but
also the remains of the largest ancient temple on the Adriatic coast from the 1st
century shine with a special glow.
A jewelled box – the oldest object
from the time of Christianization of Croats
Spend your winter holidays in Nin, have
a look of the statue of the duke Branimir, the work of the academic sculptor
Josip Poljan, then walk down the new wooden and romantic bridge to the old town
and walk along the Nin Kalelarga to the bronze statue of the famous Bishop
Gregory of Nin and the parish church beside which there is a place where gold and
silver as well as valuable church objects of the town of Nin are stored. In
this collection of the church art „Gold and Silver of the City of Nin“ there
are various objects from the time of the founding of the Nin Diocese and even
earlier. While looking at the objects in the showcases you will be passing, you
will see a small jewelled box, i.e. a reliquary made of gilded silver with a
lid in a shape of a gabled roof decorated with rosettes and jewels. The box is
considered to be the oldest object, and it is presumed that it was made during
the Christianization of Croats.
The Museum of Nin Antiquities
and the Museum of Salt
If you wish to see even more of the antiques in wintertime, make sure you
visit the Museum of Nin Antiquities located in the rural baroque palace of the
Medović family. There is a collection of
stone monuments from the rich history of Nin. Thus, you can see objects from
prehistoric to early Christian and early medieval to modern age of the town of
Nin.
If you wish to see something else, then we recommend going for a walk to
the Museum of Salt and its souvenir shop, a kind of attraction of the Nin saltworks.
Within the museum and the souvenir shop, you can see other various items that
were once used, and some of them are still used in traditional salt production.
These are, for example, rakes for collecting salt, salt transportation wagons
and wooden devices for packing. Buy a famous „flower of salt“, also called
„salt caviar“ due to its unique taste and collection method, then bath salt or
some other salt souvenirs.
Although it is cold, Nin and its surroundings emanate fresh and clean air. Take
a ride to a donkey farm located on the road from Nin to Zagreb, only 10
kilometres from the seashore. This, only donkey farm in northern Dalmatia,
beside the enthusiasm of your youngest family members, will also put a smile on
your face, trust us. Beside donkeys, on the farm there are horses, sheep,
ducks, rabbits, turkeys, peacocks..... After that, return to Nin and visit its
unique sand beaches with a beautiful view of Velebit and enjoy the Nin Lagoon. In this bora wrapped
wintertime and numerous birds in the Nin lagoon will greet you in their
specific way – flapping their wings and chirping. It is the Nin lagoon that was
selected to be the habitat by 204 species of birds, among which there is the
endemic black-winged stilt. But to see it, you will have to wait till the beginning
of spring when you will come again to Nin. However, if you are lucky, the
black-winged stilt will show itself to you and chirp in the most beautiful way
to welcome you to Nin.