The Sacred Heart Cathedral ( Serbo-Croatian: ''Katedrala Srca Isusova/Катедрала Срца Исусова'') is a Catholic church in Sarajevo; commonly referred as the Sarajevo Cathedral (''Sarajevska katedrala/Сарајевска катедрала''), it is the largest cathedral in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the seat of the
Archbishop of Vrhbosna
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vrhbosna (also known as the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Sarajevo) is an ecclesiastical archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its territorial remit includes the eastern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entiret ...
, currently
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
Tomo Vukšić
Tomo Vukšić (born 9 January 1954) is a theologian and a prelate of the Catholic Church from Bosnia and Herzegovina who was named metropolitan archbishop of Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vrhbosna in January 2022, after serving two years as archb ...
, and center of Catholic worship in the city. The cathedral is located in the city's Old Town district.
History
Sacred Heart Cathedral was built in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an important Catholic concept. The building is in the Neo-Gothic style, with Romanesque Revival elements. The building was awarded to the Viennese contractor Baron Karl Schwarz with supervising architect Josip Vancaš. He modeled it after the Notre-Dame in Dijon (France). Work began on 25 August 1884, and was completed on 9 November 1887. The
Bishop of Dubrovnik
The Diocese of Dubrovnik ( hr, Dubrovačka biskupija); or Ragusa ( la, Dioecesis Ragusiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southern Croatia.
The building was damaged during the Siege of Sarajevo, but not completely destroyed, and the damage has since been repaired. The building is often considered as a symbol of the city: The design above the door to the cathedral is part of the flag and seal of
Sarajevo Canton
The Sarajevo Canton, officially the Canton of Sarajevo ( bs, Kanton Sarajevo; hr, Sarajevska županija; sr-Cyrl, Сарајевски кантон), is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It ...
The cathedral is 41.9 meters long and 21.3 meter wide. It was constructed in Neo-Gothic style; The two bell towers are 43.2 m high. Above the portal is an octagonal rosette and a statue of the Sacred Heart.
Interior
* The main altar was designed by Josip Vancaš and made from Grisignano marble. It rests on four small columns of red Tyrolean marble. The seven niches behind the altar depict in the central position: Sacred Heart of Jesus; on the left side: St. Joseph and St. Francis of Assisi; on the right side:
St. Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
and the prophet Elijah; on the extremities: statue of an angel.
* Side altars: in the western aisle is an altar dedicated to the Immaculate Conception (a donation of Emperor Franz Joseph I). In the eastern aisle, an altar dedicated to the apostles of the Slavs, St. Cyril and St. Methodius (a donation of the people of
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
).
* Pulpit: the pulpit is mounted on a richly decorated pedestal. The enclosure shows in the central part Jesus as teacher, flanked on each side by two Evangelists.
* Frescoes: in 1886 the frescoes were commissioned to Alexander Maximilian Seitz (1811–1888). Due to his deteriorating health he could only finish the designs in 1887. The execution was undertaken by his assistant Alberto Rohden.
** on the wall of the western bell tower : the Coronation of Mary. The lower part of the fresco shows a father, mother and child in national dress, surrounded by St. Francis of Assisi and
St. Dominic
Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...
.
** on the wall of the eastern bell tower: the Resurrection of Jesus.
** in the vault: a depiction of the
Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is ...
and a depiction of
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
receiving the Ten Commandments, both by Ante Martinović (replica on canvas of the fresco by A.M. Seitz).
** in the indentations above the vaults: oil paintings in chiaroscuro of the Doctors of the Church, done on canvas in Rome by Lodovico Seitz (1844-1908), son of Alexander Seitz.
* Organ: manufactured by the Heferer Company of Zagreb. It has mechanical tractions, two manuals, pedal and 22 sound registers.
* Grave of archbishop Stadler, the first archbishop of Vrhbosna by the sculptor
Marin Studin
Marin Studin (1895—1960) was a Croatian sculptor.
Biography
Studin was born in 1895 in Kaštel Novi village in a family of farmers, not to far away from Split. He got his education in art at the Academy of Art, Zagreb and spent two years, fro ...
.
* The five stained-glass windows in the apse were designed by Josip Vancaš and executed by the Tiroler Glasmalerei of Innsbruck.
* The stained-glass windows in the side aisles were executed by the Vienna workshop of the Tiroler Glasmalerei.
Josip Stadler
Josip Stadler (24 January 1843 – 8 December 1918) was a Roman Catholic priest, the first Archbishop of Vrhbosna, the founder of the religious order of the Servants of the Infant Jesus ( hr, Služavke Maloga Isusa), and one of the main ins ...
Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome.
According to the latest census from 2013, there are 544,114 Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina, making up ...
*
Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs of Bosnia and H ...
References
* Msgr. Ante Meštrović: A short guide to the cathedral in Sarajevo (2011), booklet on sale in the cathedral.