Heart of Jesus (Tirana)

Facade of the Church of the Sacred Heart

The Church of the Heart of Jesus ( Albanian Kisha e zemrës së shenjtë të Krishtit ) is a Roman Catholic church in the Albanian capital Tirana on Kavaja Street (Rruga e Kavajës) west of Skanderbeg Square . Built in the late 1930s, it was one of three Catholic churches in Tirana in pre-communist times. It reports to the Archbishop of Tirana-Durrës and has been a cultural monument since 2007.

history

Although there were hardly any Catholics in the predominantly Muslim central Albania, a small Catholic church was built in Tirana as early as 1856. The Marienkirche or "Church of the Immaculate Lady" (Kisha "Zonja e Papërlyer") was donated by the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I to strengthen the Catholics in the country. The church, near what is now Bulevardi Zogu i Parë , was demolished in 1967 when Albania was banned from religion.

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesuits was built between 1938 and 1939 as a basilica built. The architect was Giovanni Santi, who had chosen a simple neo-Romanesque style . Queen Geraldine donated 10,000 gold francs to build the church. The altar was made by Pope Pius XII. as a gift, the windows of Maja Jacomoni di San Savino, wife of the Italian governor Francesco Jacomoni. The church received an altar with an iconostasis for the Byzantine rite . Originally a bell tower and an adjoining building for the order were also planned. It was the first church in Albania with this name. The church was opened with the midnight service on December 24, 1939.

In 1967, as part of anti-religious policies, the church was closed by the communist authorities and converted into the Rinia cinema , with the building's street-facing facade being heavily modified to hide the original purpose of the building and the frescoes being removed.

Interior of the church

After the fall of communism , the seat of the Archdiocese of Durrës-Tirana was moved to the capital, making the Sacred Heart Church a temporary cathedral. The St. Lucia Cathedral remained a con- cathedral . The facade of the building was renewed after 1990. In 1999 it was equipped with new fresco paintings. In addition to Christian traditions such as the Last Supper, propagandistic homage is also paid to the Catholic faith in the communist era using realistic images.

In the years 1942/43 a Franciscan church was built in Tirana, which survived the communist era as the house of the pioneers and is now serving its original purpose again. In 2002 the Herz-Jesu-Kirche was replaced by the new Paulus Cathedral as the main church of the city and provisional cathedral of the archbishopric.

Web links

Commons : Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Tirana - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Left side of the road: description of the paintings in the church (English)

Individual evidence

^ Lista e Monumenteve - Rrethi i Tiranës. (PDF) No. 134. Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Albania, p. 10 , accessed on July 2, 2016 (Albanian).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gazmend Bakiu: Tirana e vjetër . Mediaprint, Tirana 2013, ISBN 978-9928-08101-8 , Besimtarët katolikë dhe faltoret e tyrë, p. 101-103 .
↑ ^a ^b Spiro Vasil Mëhilli: Tirana (1920-1944) . Mediaprint, Tirana 2014, ISBN 978-9928-08155-1 , Kisha Katolike, p. 211 .
↑ ^a ^b Markus WE Peters: History of the Catholic Church in Albania from the Paris Peace Conference in 1919/20 to the pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II in 1993 . Dissertation. Bonn 2001, p. 102 (later published under the title History of the Catholic Church in Albania 1919–1993 (Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 3-447-04784-4 )).
^ Armand Vokshi: Tracce dell'Architettura Italiana in Albania 1925–1943 . DNA, Florence 2014, ISBN 978-88-903947-4-4 , Chiesa cattolica "Sacro Cure" dei Padri Gesuiti, p. 147 f .
^ ^A ^b Michael Harrison: Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tirana. In: Left side of the road. Retrieved May 22, 2013, May 18, 2016 (UK English).

↑ ^a ^b Markus WE Peters: Catholic Church Buildings in Albania from the Middle Ages to the Present - Symbolism, History, Backgrounds . In: Walter Raunig (Ed.): Albania. Wealth and diversity of ancient culture . State Museum for Ethnology Munich, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-9807561-2-2 , p. 90-104 .

41.327304 19.809435Coordinates: 41 ° 19 ′ 38.3 " N , 19 ° 48 ′ 34" E

[1] Lista e Monumenteve - Rrethi i Tiranës. (PDF) No. 134. Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Albania, p. 10 , accessed on July 2, 2016 (Albanian).

[bakiu-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gazmend Bakiu: Tirana e vjetër . Mediaprint, Tirana 2013, ISBN 978-9928-08101-8 , Besimtarët katolikë dhe faltoret e tyrë, p. 101-103 .

[mehilli-3] Spiro Vasil Mëhilli: Tirana (1920-1944) . Mediaprint, Tirana 2014, ISBN 978-9928-08155-1 , Kisha Katolike, p. 211 .

[:02-4] Markus WE Peters: History of the Catholic Church in Albania from the Paris Peace Conference in 1919/20 to the pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II in 1993 . Dissertation. Bonn 2001, p. 102 (later published under the title History of the Catholic Church in Albania 1919–1993 (Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 3-447-04784-4 )).

[vokshi-5] Armand Vokshi: Tracce dell'Architettura Italiana in Albania 1925–1943 . DNA, Florence 2014, ISBN 978-88-903947-4-4 , Chiesa cattolica "Sacro Cure" dei Padri Gesuiti, p. 147 f .

[:0-6] A ^b Michael Harrison: Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tirana. In: Left side of the road. Retrieved May 22, 2013, May 18, 2016 (UK English).

[:1-7] Markus WE Peters: Catholic Church Buildings in Albania from the Middle Ages to the Present - Symbolism, History, Backgrounds . In: Walter Raunig (Ed.): Albania. Wealth and diversity of ancient culture . State Museum for Ethnology Munich, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-9807561-2-2 , p. 90-104 .