St. Stephen's Cathedral (Shkodra)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Archbishop St. Stephen's Cathedral in Shkodra

The Stephan Cathedral ( Albanian  Katedralja e Shën Shtjefënit ) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the northern Albanian city of Shkodra and seat of the Archdiocese of Shkodra console . The historicist building dedicated to St. Stephen was opened in 1865. It is also called the Great Church ( Kisha e Madhe ).

history

The Bishop of Shkodra resided in Jubani village in the first half of the 19th century. At that time Shkodra did not have a Catholic church. The service took place in the cemetery. Austria-Hungary supported the building of a church in Shkodra as part of the Protectorate of Culture.

In 1851 the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I complied with the popular demand and approved the construction of a cathedral in a Ferman . It was a replacement for the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Rozafa Castle, which had been converted into a mosque . Construction work began after seven years on April 7, 1858 in the presence of the governor. The delay was due to an expensive project by an Austrian architect who was not known by name and which was not implemented. Due to the lack of funds, the size of the project and the difficult procurement of individual materials, the construction work dragged on. The cathedral was opened in 1865.

Coffered ceiling made by Kolë Idromeno

The 50 meter high bell tower was not completed until 1890. In 1923, two more were added to the three existing bells. After the earthquake of 1905, Kolë Idromeno designed a new ceiling in 1909. This is one of the most important cultural relics of the city of Shkodra, as the only interior decoration of the cathedral survived the communist period.

During the First Balkan War in 1912 and 1913, when the Montenegrin army  bombarded the city from Tarabosh , residents of Shkodra sought refuge in the cathedral in the hope that the Christian besiegers would spare the church. However, the cathedral was hit by more than 100 projectiles and badly damaged, the bell tower burned down and many people fell victim to the attack. The building was restored during the First World War with Austrian funding.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary in 1958, the interior of the cathedral was embellished with paintings and a new altar. This work, as well as the large number of visitors to the celebrations, were in contradiction to the atheist state doctrine and were in part also prevented by the authorities.

When the Communist People's Republic of Albania declared itself atheism in 1967 , all places of worship, mosques or churches were closed, destroyed or converted. The cathedral was converted into a sports hall , the adjoining archbishop's palace as a hotel. The facade was clad in socialist style, the bell tower was blown up, the bells melted down. In 1973 it was the meeting place for the Women's Congress of the Party of Labor of Albania .

"A multipurpose Sports Palace replaced the Catholic cathedral at Shkodra. It was fitted with bleacher seating along the sidelines, with floor lines painted for basketball, and its balcony seating was faced with large letters: 'Glory to Marxism-leninism.' The cathedral presbytery and sacristy were outfitted as a swimming pool, complete with showers. "

“A multi-purpose sports palace replaced the Catholic cathedral in Shkodra. Grandstands were set up along the sidelines and lines for basketball were painted on the floor. On the balcony seats was emblazoned in large letters: 'Glory to Marxism-Leninism.' The presbytery of the cathedral and the sacristy were equipped as a swimming pool including showers. "

- Edwin E. Jacques

After the collapse of the Albanian dictatorship in 1990 and 1991, the cathedral was reopened on March 7, 1991. The ceremony was chaired by Zef Simoni . Mother Teresa was present among the thousands of guests .

On April 25, 1993 Pope John Paul II celebrated Holy Mass in St. Stephen's Cathedral on the occasion of his visit to Albania , after the cathedral had been restored within two years. He consecrated four new bishops of the Born Again Roman Catholic Church in Albania .

A new church tower was built with donations and was consecrated on November 16, 1999. In 2007 the cathedral was given a new coat of paint.

architecture

Main facade

St. Stephen's Cathedral can be assigned to the style of historicism . It has three naves and consists of a nave and a choir . The cathedral is around 74 meters long, 50 meters wide and around 23 meters high. With space for 4,000 seated or 7,000 standing believers, it was considered the largest church in the Balkans when it was built .

The main facade facing Marin Bicikemi Street in the northwest stands out above all for its rose window above the main entrance .

The church tower is on the southwest corner . At the middle level there are clocks on all four sides. On the top of the tower there is a lantern above the bell chamber .

A Jesuit college is located north of the cathedral .

literature

  • Markus WE Peters: Catholic Church Buildings in Albania from the Middle Ages to the Present . In: Walter Raunig (ed.): Albania - wealth and diversity of ancient culture . State Museum for Ethnology, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-9807561-2-2 , The Archbishop St. Stephen's Cathedral in Shkodra, p. 90-99 .

Web links

Commons : St. Stephen's Cathedral in Shkodra  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Description on the official website of the Archdiocese of Shkodra-Pult (Albanian)
  • Description on shkoder.net (Albanian)

Remarks

  1. ↑ Deusch writes that the decree goes back to the year 1854.
  2. ↑ Peters mentions April 7, 1858 as the date of inauguration, 1848 as the date of Ferman and 1849 as the year the foundation stone was laid. Pettifer writes that the construction work lasted from 1856 to 1898. Deusch also describes 1856 as the start of construction work.
  3. ↑ In Deusch the height is given as "almost 100 meters".
  4. ↑ Peters writes that on this day “courageous Catholics took the initiative and set up the cross on the concrete portal […]” ( Markus WE Peters : Catholic Church Buildings in Albania from the Middle Ages to the Present . In: Walter Raunig (ed.): Albania - Richness and diversity of ancient culture . State Museum for Ethnology, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-9807561-2-2 , The Archbishop St. Stephen's Cathedral in Shkodra, p. 98 . ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Markus WE Peters: Catholic Church Buildings in Albania from the Middle Ages to the Present . In: Walter Raunig (ed.): Albania - wealth and diversity of ancient culture . State Museum for Ethnology, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-9807561-2-2 , The Archbishop St. Stephen's Cathedral in Shkodra, p. 90-99 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Engelbert Deusch: Das k. (U.) K. Cultural protectorate in the Albanian settlement area . in its cultural, political and economic environment (=  To the customer of Southeast Europe . Volume II / 38 ). Böhlau, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-205-78150-9 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g St. Stephen's Cathedral. In: Kisha Katolike Shkodër. July 2007, accessed September 28, 2012 .
  4. ↑ a b Skënder Luzati: Buildings and architecture in Shkodra: decline of a northern Albanian metropolis . In: Werner Daum (Ed.): Albania - between cross and crescent . Pinguin Verlag, Innsbruck 1998, ISBN 3-7016-2461-5 , p. 242-256 .
  5. ↑ a b James Pettifer: Albania & Kosovo - Blue Guide . A & C Black, London 2001, ISBN 0-7136-5016-8 .
  6. ^ Edwin E. Jacques: The Albanians: An Ethnic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present . McFarland, Jefferson 1995, ISBN 978-0-89950-932-7 , pp. 551 .
  7. ↑ Peter Bartl: Religious communities and churches . In: Klaus-Detlev Grothusen (Hrsg.): Albanien (=  Südosteuropa-Handbuch ). tape VII . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1993, ISBN 3-525-36207-2 , pp. 587-614 .
  8. ↑ Michael Schmidt-Neke : Habemus papam - gleanings from the Pope's visit . In: German-Albanian Friendship Society (Hrsg.): Albanische Hefte . Volume 22, No. 2 , 1993, ISSN  0930-1437 , pp. 10-13 .
  9. ↑ Kolec Traboini: Katedralja e Shkodrës. (No longer available online.) In: shkoder.net. 1999, archived from the original on July 23, 2010 ; Retrieved September 28, 2012 (Albanian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.shkoder.net

Coordinates: 42 ° 3 '55.49 "  N , 19 ° 31' 11.94"  E