Split - Cathedral of Saint Domnius

Split, the largest city of Dalmatia, was (just like neighbouring Trogir) as the Greek colony in the 4th century BC. Roman emperor Diocletian had a palace built as a retirement residence near Salona, the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia at that time.

After the Romans abandoned the site, the Palace remained empty for several centuries, but when Salona was sacked by Avars and Slavs in the 7th century, the walled Palace of Diocletian was settled by refugees from Salona.

Since the the palace has been occupied, with residents making their homes and businesses within the palace basement and directly in its walls. Today the remains of the palace form about half the old town and city center of Split.

In 1979 the historic center of Split was included into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

The Cathedral of Saint Domnius ("Katedrala Svetog Duje") is in the center of ancient Diocletian's Palace. The octogonal building was erected in the early 4th century as Emperor Diocletian's mausoleum. Today this church is the seat of the archbishop of the archdiocese of Split-Makarska - and one of the oldest cathedrals worldwide.

The two wings of the portal´s wooden door, more than 5 m high, are the most interesting works. They were carved by Andrea Buvina ("Andrija Buvina") around 1214. Here are 28 scenes from the life of Jesus, starting with the Annunciation and ending with the Ascension.

Most such medieval sculpted doors, that survived the times are made from bronze (eg Pisa, Venice, Rome, Verona, Hildesheim). This is one of the very few wooden doors, I remember another wooden door in Cologne ("St. Maria im Kapitol").

Sorry for the bad quality of these photos, but it was difficult to take photos here - and I could never get proper distance and light.