Osijek Co-cathedral

Osijek Co-cathedral
The parish church of St Peter and Paul the Apostle in Osijek
Country	Croatia
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.svpetaripavao.hr
Architecture
Architect(s)	Franz Langenberg [1]
Style	Neo-Gothic
Completed	1898
Specifications
Spire height	94 m
Materials	brick and stone

The Church of St Peter and St Paul (Croatian: Crkva svetog Petra i Pavla), the co-cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Đakovo-Osijek, is a neo-Gothic sacral structure located in Osijek, Croatia. The multi-tiered 90-metre spire is one of the city's landmarks. The church was built in 1898 on the initiative of Đakovo-based Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer.^[2]

Interior

The church is entered via a small door to the right of the main portal, overlooked by a trio of gargoyles. The interior is a treasure trove of neo-Gothic ornamentation, with a succession of pinnacled altars overlooked by exuberant stained glass windows. The interior was finished off in 1938–1942 when leading Croatian painter Mirko Rački covered the walls and ceilings with brightly coloured frescoes illustrating famous episodes from the Old and New Testaments.

Masses are held daily at 07:00 and 18:30, and on Sundays at 06:30, 07:30, 08:30, 10:00, 11:30 and 18:30.

Trivia

• This is the tallest building in Croatia outside of Zagreb.
• Capacity of the church during the mass is over 3000 people.
• The church is built of three and a half million bricks, and has a colored stone altars.
• The four tower bells weigh 2665 kg, 1552 kg, 740 kg. and 331 kg. ^[3]
• In 1991, during Croatian War of Independence the church was heavily damaged.

References

1. ^ (German) Franz Langenberg's Biography
2. ^ "Povijest župe - Župna crkva Sv. Petra i Pavla Apostola u Osijeku" (in Croatian). Official Web Page. http://www.svpetaripavao.hr/portal/iz-povijesti-upe.html. Retrieved 2011-01-18. 
3. ^ Franz Langenberg's Biography (de)