Croatian Sigts

The Cathedral of St. Stephen
Zagreb, Kaptol

The history of this church, or to put it in a better way, the existence of the church there began at the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century with the construction of the first church in the Romanic style. It housed numerous old and valuable pieces of art. The cathedral was once encircled by a wall and towers, but many parts were torn down during the centuries and rebuilt, with the final reconstruction occurring in 1907. It was restored and rebuilt in the Romanic, early Gothic, late Gothic and neo-Gothic styles. Since some restorations lasted for several centuries, various styles can be discerned on ti, ranging from all the previously mentioned ones to Renaissance and Baroque.

Cathedral of St. Dujo
Split

The cathedral of St. Dujo is prominent in the town beneath the Marjan hill. It is the oldest on in the whole world (before Christianisation, it was the mausoleum of the Emperor Diocletian). In the 13th century it acquired a monumental wooden portal with a Romanic relief by Andrija Buvina, a masterpiece of Romanic plastic. In the 15th century, a late-Gothic chapel and the altar of St.Stas were built by Juraj the Dalmatian. Beside the beautifully produced pulpit, altar and carved Romanic choir seats from the 13th century, the oldest extant in Croatia, the cathedral has a lavish treasury of reliquiaries, sacral dishes, a Gospel from the 8th century and the Sumpetar map repository from the 11th century.

The Cathedral of St. Peter
Djakovo


The neo-Romanic cathedral of St. Peter (1866 - 1822) which has become the trademark of Djakovo and dominates its landscape, is certainly one of the most important sacral monuments of Croatia. It is a tripartite building made of bricks with a perpendicular roof that is topped by a 54 m high cupola. Two bell towers 84 m high were erected in front of it. It entirely represents the concept of the bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, a patriot and great lover of art.

The Cathedral of St. Jacob
Šibenik

The cathedral of St. Jacob was built in 1441 by Juraj Dalmatinac in a period of three decades (finalised by Nikola the Florentine at the beginning of the 16th century). It combines elements of flowery Gothic style with a series of Renaissance solutions. Juraj Dalmatinac, whilst erecting the 30 meter high cupola above the center, used an eight-cornered drum as a transition between the four-cornered foundation to the circle of the cupola. The baptistry represents a special architectural and sculptural value of the cathedral. The master built it below the central arch. Juraj left lasting traces of his art on the arches: a relief consisting of 72 human heads in actual proportions - a relief of exceptional Renaissance portraits.

The Cathedral of St. Stephen
Hvar

The cathedral of St. Stephen was built in the 14th and 17th centuries in the location of the Benedictine Abbey from the 12th century and the previous Gothic cathedral from the 14th century. All what is left of the old cathedral is the Gothic presbytherium, two pulpits from the 15th century, a stone polyptych  with saints and the reliefs “Flogging” and “Assumption” form the 15th century. The present cathedral is a tripartite basilica with a three-leafed decoration on a Renaissance - Baroque facade. A Renaissance bell tower from the 17th century stands next to the cathedral.