The sea, 150 meters away. The sea, 150 meters away.

NIN, the Croatian "Bethlehem", lies 14 km north-west of the city of Zadar. The old town core sits on a historic islet just 500 m across, joined to the mainland by two stone bridges. It is ringed by beautiful, long and shallow sandy beaches to the north, west and south. To the east stretch the fields of the salt works.

This is a town with a glorious past, 3000 years old, one of the oldest on the eastern Adriatic coast. Here history speaks at almost every step.

It was founded in the 9th century BC by the Liburnians, who kept a strong maritime and trading centre here. Where the Zaton Holiday Resort and the well-known Zaton campsite stand today was the ancient harbour of old Nin — Aenona of that time — whose remains are still visible under the sea (1st century).

In Roman times Nin (www.nin.hr) became an important municipium. From that period come the remains of the largest ancient temple on the eastern Adriatic (1st century), the floor mosaics of a wealthy Roman house, the remains of Roman buildings in the centre of the islet, monumental statues of Roman emperors and more.

Nin is the cradle of the Croatian state. It was the first political, religious and cultural centre of medieval Croatia.

Nin is also the oldest Croatian royal town, the permanent or occasional capital of Croatian national rulers: dukes Višeslav, Trpimir and Branimir, kings Tomislav, Petar Krešimir IV, Zvonimir and others.

Nin was a bishopric from the 9th to the 19th century. The bishops of Nin matter to the Croatian church, above all Gregory of Nin, who fought to preserve Glagolitic, the script of the Croatian people.

Rich archaeological finds can be seen in the Museum of Nin Antiquities, which also holds two original Old Croatian ships, the Condura Croatica (11th century), and a reconstruction of part of the Liburnian ship Serilia Liburnica (1st century). The church treasury "Gold and Silver of the Town of Nin" holds Judas' silver coin, the ring of Pope Pius II, reliquaries of the patron saints of Nin from the 8th to the 13th century, the painting of the apparition of Our Lady and more.

Today Nin is a modern tourist and cultural destination, visited for its exceptionally well preserved natural heritage and clean environment, its rich cultural heritage, and for the state-of-the-art tourist settlement with apartments and the campsite of the Zaton Holiday Resort (www.zaton.hr), tailored to the needs of today's most demanding guest.