In full glory after 25 years of restoration!
After almost a quarter of a century, the restoration of St. Mark's Church in Zagreb has been completed. The visitors to this beautiful Upper Town building will now be able to see one of the Zagreb's oldest architectural monuments in its full glory.
St. Mark's Church, one of the symbols of Zagreb and a recognizable city sight, was built in the 13th century. What remains from that stage of its construction is the window in the south facade and the ground-plan of the belfry. The gothic vaults and portals including the most valuable – the sumptuous south portal, were constructed in the second half of the 14th century. Outside, on the northwest wall of the church lies the oldest coat of arms of Zagreb with the year 1499 engraved in it. The building has gone through a number of alteration and reconstruction phases, the most thorough one in the second half of the 19th century according to drawings by the Viennese architects Friedrich Schmidt and Herman Bolle. During the restoration in the first half of the 20th century, the walls were painted by the well-known painter Jozo Kljaković, while the altar was decorated by the works of renowned sculptor Ivan Meštrović.
The restoration project that has just been completed lasted 25 years. The works were slowed down due to complications with the restoration operations, and because of the war. During the project, the tower and the roof were renovated, and the 15 statues that had been removed for security reason were returned to their proper positions.
The three-nave St. Mark's Church is 36 meters long and 15.5 meters wide. The south side of the roof is decorated with two coats of arms, the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, and the coat of arms of the city of Zagreb. The bells in the steeple dates back to 1706.
On the occasion of the completion of restoration works, a mass was celebrated in the newly renovated St. Mark's Church by Zagreb Archbishop Cardinal Josip Bozanić.