The Church of Saint Michael () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. It is located in

Tvrđa Tvrđa (''Citadel'') is the old town of the city of Osijek in Croatia. It is the best-preserved and largest ensemble of Baroque buildings in Croatia and consists of a Habsburg star fort built on the right bank of the Drava, River Drava. Tvrđa h ...

History

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s laid the foundation stone on 31 July 1725 on the foundation of Kasimpaša

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, which was built during Ottoman period in Osijek. In 1734 the first

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was held in the unfinished church. In 1750 the church was dedicated to

Saint Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

. It was finished in 1768. In 1991, during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

the church was damaged, but in 1999 it was renovated.

Altars

Church have 7

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

s, which were added over time:Anđela Horvat: Barok u Hrvatskoj (fragment: Barok kontinentalnoj Hrvatskoj), Zagreb, 1982. * Altar of

(main altar) * Altar of Saint John Nepomuk (from 1764) * Altar of Saint Otilia (from 1768) * Altar of

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

(also called ''White altar'') * Altar of Holy Cross (also called ''Black altar'') * Altar of Blessed Mary Assistant * Altar of Saint Teresa of Ávila

References

{{Osijek Roman Catholic churches completed in 1768 Buildings and structures in Osijek 1768 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy Culture in Osijek 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Croatia Tourist attractions in Osijek Destroyed churches in Croatia