Bjelovar Cathedral
The Cathedral of Teresa of Ávila ( Croatian Katedrala sv. Terezije Avilske u Bjelovaru ) is a Baroque church on Eugen Kvaternik Square in the Croatian town of Bjelovar .
history
In 1761 the Czech brothers Hubert and Ignatius Diviš came to Bjelovar at the invitation of the town's military government to set up a school. When the two Piarist monks saw that there was only a small chapel in the village, they decided to build a church. The foundation was laid on April 10, 1765, and the foundation stone was laid on May 12. On October 15, 1772, the church was finally consecrated to St. Teresa of Ávila . Teresa was the patron saint of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa , who Bjelovar founded in 1756. Two years later a church tower was added. The bishop of Zagreb , Josip Galjuf, finally consecrated the church on October 15, 1775.
In 1880 the church was badly damaged in an earthquake and the rectory was also affected. The church was only rebuilt in 1888 by the architect Hermann Bollé and the interior was also renovated in 1896.
Until the establishment of two new parishes in 1980, St. Teresa was the only parish church in the city.
During the Croatian War of Independence on September 29, 1991 a shell hit the church and killed three women. Today a plaque commemorates this disaster.
On December 5, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI founded the Bjelovar-Križevci diocese and the church became a cathedral church.
architecture
The late baroque church facade protrudes from the row of houses on the eastern edge of the square. The baroque portal sits in a central projection from which a 52 meter high tower rises. Profiled cornices, ribbons and rustication on the ground floor divide the facade horizontally, pilasters with leaf capitals divide the building vertically. Arched windows illuminate the interior. The windows on the ground floor to the left and right of the portal are designed as oculi. The three windows above have an elaborate roof. The central arched window above the portal is artistically designed and has a cross above the roof. The two-story tower sits in a tail gable on the facade and ends with a tower clock and a baroque dome.
The single-nave aisle church has a 20 × 12 meter nave. Under the hall there is an externally accessible crypt, in which there are some graves.
Web links
Coordinates: 45 ° 53 '53.2 " N , 16 ° 50' 35.9" E