Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik, Croatia
Rating: 8,2/10 (1000 votes)  The Cathedral of St. James is considered one of the main attractions of the city of Sibenik. Since 2000, this cathedral has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and has the status of a"minor basilica". The Cathedral of St. James is a prominent representative of medieval Dalmatian architecture. Construction of the temple began in 1431 by Venetian and local builders. But for 10 years the cathedral was never built, then the famous architect Juraj Dalmatinac was involved in the work, who devoted almost his entire life to the construction of the cathedral. Juraj Dalmatianac worked in the Flemish Gothic style, and some of the decorations and sculptures have characteristics of the Renaissance. After the death of the architect, Nicola Fiorentinac took over the construction and brought the features of the Tuscan Renaissance to the exterior of the building. The construction of the cathedral was completed only in 1536. It was built from solid stone blocks. The roof and dome of the temple are impressive. There is a large octagonal drum with sixteen windows under the dome. The staircase leading to the portal of the central facade is made in the form of a trefoil. A feature of the exterior of the cathedral is 71 stone heads (peasants, fishermen, old people, teenagers, soldiers) that adorn it. All of them are evenly placed around the perimeter of the cathedral and look quite realistic. Also, the baptistery of the cathedral (the baptismal room) cannot be ignored, which is housed in the southern apse. It is a small circular room with niches between the columns. On the tops of the columns are statues of the prophets from the Old Testament. The ceiling of this room is decorated with the image of God the Father, cherubs and angels. In the center of the baptistery is a baptismal font held by statues of boys.    We also recommend reading Trakoscan Castle in Croatia Topic: Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik, Croatia. |
