Katedrala sv Petra

The Cathedral of St Peter in Đakovo is one of the youngest in Croatia, but its roots reach back to the 13th century. Because of the various dangers that threatened it over the centuries, it is surrounded by defensive walls – the first, Gothic cathedral was destroyed by the Ottomans while they ruled this area. After the Ottomans were driven out, at the beginning of the 18th century Bishops Đuro Patačić and Petar Bakić built a new, second cathedral and a bishop's palace inside the old walls. The second cathedral was structurally weak, so Bishop Antun Mandić and his successor Emerik Raffay prepared to build a new one. Their vision was turned into reality by Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, who signed the construction contract with the architect Karl Rösner on 17 April 1866.

Building was finished after a full 16 years, in 1882, and 7 million red bricks, fired in Đakovo, went into it. The interior is decorated with 43 frescoes, the work of a father and son – Alexander Maximilian Seitz and Ludwig Seitz – who worked on them with many assistants over 12 years. The frescoes show many biblical scenes, with themes from the New and Old Testaments, and the cathedral is also adorned with seven altars and a grand pulpit, bearing stone statues and reliefs of saints. The main altar, a masterpiece of architecture, is dedicated to the cathedral's patron, St Peter the Apostle.

The cathedral's floor plan takes the form of a Latin cross, and in 1968 a series of 14 large stone reliefs by the academic sculptor Lujo Lozica, showing scenes of the Passion of Christ, was installed. There is a large organ in the choir loft, and the crypt holds the tomb of the bishop who built the cathedral, Josip Juraj Strossmayer, along with the tombs of other bishops.

Did you know?

Pope St John XXIII called Đakovo's Cathedral of St Peter "the most beautiful cathedral between Venice and Istanbul".