Chest of Saint Simeon
in Zadar, CroatiaCategory: Attraction
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Poljana Šime Budinića 2, 23000, Zadar, Croatia Print route »
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The Chest of Saint Simeon or Saint Simeon's Casket (Croatian: Škrinja sv. Šimuna) is a rectangular cedarwood sarcophagus in the shape of a chasse, overlaid with silver and silver-gilt plaques, said to hold the relics of St Simon the God-receiver; it is located over the main altar in the Church of Saint Simeon in Zadar, Croatia. The chest, considered a masterpiece of medieval art and also a unique monument of the goldsmith's craft of the age, is one of the most interesting works in gold in Europe now under the protection of UNESCO. It was made by local goldsmiths to an Italian design between 1377 and 1380.The cult of St. Simeon, the story of how the queen stole the finger of Zadar's patron saint, or gonfaloniero as the locals call it, and the donation of a magnificent shrine to atone for the stealing of the saint's finger illustrate not only the political aspect orchestrated by the Angevins amid the people's belief in the authenticity of Zadar's body over the one kept in Venice, but also the high level of development and quality in goldsmithing during the second half of the fourteenth century.
The top of the chest containing the mummified body of the silver-crowned bearded saint enclosed behind a sheet of transparent glass is elevated above the main altar and displayed to the public, as well as its interior full of precious gifts given by Elizabeth of Bosnia, every year on 8 October, at 8:30 a.m.
