Zagreb Cathedral

Zagreb's cathedral is the tallest church in Croatia and was for over a century the country's tallest building, until a Split tower overtook it in 2022 - a pair of neo-Gothic spires rising over the Kaptol quarter, visible from much of the city. The church beneath the nineteenth-century remodelling is medieval, rebuilt many times; the architect Hermann Bollé rebuilt it with the present towers after the earthquake of 1880 brought down much of what stood before. Another earthquake, in March 2020, damaged the spires badly and one was taken down for safety. Restoration has continued since, with cranes, scaffolding and long closures of the interior. Around the cathedral run the round towers and curtain wall of the old bishop's fortifications.

History

A Roman tombstone of the 1st-2nd century and graves of the 8th to 11th centuries show people on Kaptol long before 1094, the year from which the written history of Zagreb and its cathedral is counted, when King Ladislaus I founded the diocese of Zagreb and made one of the existing churches the cathedral of its first bishop, Duh. A proper cathedral was begun around 1102; Bishop Prodan was buried in it in 1175, and it was completed in Romanesque style by 1217, when Andrew II's charters mention it. In 1242 it was almost razed in a fire set by the Tatars, and its appearance is known only from the seal of the Zagreb Chapter of 1297; Bishop Timothy (1263-1287) rebuilt it, and over the following centuries it grew into a Gothic church, the most monumental Gothic sacred building south-east of the Alps. Zagreb remained a diocese under Esztergom until it was raised to an archbishopric in 1853, and Kaptol and Gradec were joined into one city in 1850. The earthquake of 1880 destroyed large parts of the building, and Hermann Bollé's restoration gave it its neo-Gothic form and the twin spires, each over 108 metres high (Wikipedia, Zagreb Cathedral).

What's there

• The twin spires - the neo-Gothic towers over Kaptol, currently under restoration and partly dismantled.
• The fortification walls - round towers and curtain wall built around the bishop's palace beside it.
• Kaptol square - the approach street of clergy houses, with a gilded Marian column in front of the church.
• The view from Gradec - the cathedral seen over the market roofs from the Upper Town terraces.

When to go

The exterior can be seen at any hour and the towers are floodlit at night. Access to the interior has been restricted since the earthquake and depends on the stage of works, so check locally rather than planning a day around it. Morning light hits the west front; the best overall view is from the Upper Town in late afternoon.

What to expect

This is a building site and has been for years. Expect hoardings, scaffolding, a missing spire and no guarantee of getting inside; photographs taken before 2020 do not match what is there now. The square in front is often partly closed. Anyone who has come specifically for the interior should have an alternative in mind and treat the cathedral as a silhouette.

Nearby

Dolac market is directly below, and the Upper Town is a few minutes' walk uphill.

Key facts