South-west side

Description

The church of St. Nicholas (originally St. Matthew) represents a typical example of a simple Gothic church with a pointed ribbed vault in the nave and sanctuary. It is situated in the graveyard of the Orthodox in the village of Kula Atlagića, to the west of Benkovac. It is the site of the medieval village of Tihlić on the so called Via Magna, or the Great Road. It is a rather small and humble building - 6.2 by 4.24 meters in dimensions. Valuable information about the time of the building, the names of the church procurators and builders can still be seen on the church itself - on a stone tablet above the side door.

Belfry

History

Four representatives of the village of Tihlić - Ivan Marinović, Mihovil Korlatović, Nikola Dražetić and Ratko Božićković, came to Zadar on April 6, 1444 and signed a contract before the notary Ivan Kalcina with three master builders from Zadar - Vuk Slavogostov, Nikola Bilšić and Juraj Zurević. The builders agreed to build the church for the price of 55 ducats. Grgur Mrganić, a noble man from Zadar is listed in the contract as a guarantor for the builders. The construction took time. A tablet built in the south wall above the side entrance bears an inscription stating that the church was completed on October 25, 1446. It mentions the names of the builders and two of the procurators.

Rosette

Info

  • Ivo Petricioli: Spomenici romaničke i gotičke arhitekture u benkovačkom kraju
  • Nikola Jakšić: Benkovac i okolica u srednjem vijeku

Description

The major part of the building material used for the church had been taken from sites of older abandoned buildings. The finely carved stone blocks belonged to some Roman and early medieval building.

Facade

Inscription

>> +AN(N)O D(OMI)NI MCCCCXXXX VI DIE XXV / MENSIS OCTVBRI FVIT C(ON)PLETA ECLESIA ISTA / TRES MAGIS-TRI ERA(N)T LVPUS NICOLAS G(E)ORGIVS DE IADRA P(RO)CVRATORES ECLESIE / NICOLAVS DRACETIC ET RATCO COLANC ET VNIVERSIS VIRI VILE TICLICHI . <<

The inscription is rather rustic. The Roman character for number 5 (V) is upside down. Uppercase and lowercase are used at random.