Then & Now: The Co-Cathedral St Peter and Paul in Osijek

Then & Now: The Co-Cathedral St Peter and Paul in Osijek, This City Knows

October 19, 2016 Comments (2) Views: 1768 Nostalgia, Postcards

Then & Now: The Co-Cathedral St Peter and Paul in Osijek

Wondrously rising against the skies in Osijek, Croatia, the Co-Cathedral St Peter and Paul is a multi-tiered 90-metre spire, a red-brick neo-Gothic giant, which makes the ultimate most recognized site of Croatia’s fourth largest city. As glorious as it is, I always wanted to visit it and experience the place with my own eyes and body.

This old vintage postcard reveals how the glorious Co-Cathedral dominates above the small city square back in the day…

then-and-now-osjecka_crkva_sv_petra_i_pavla_razglednica

The construction of the church started during the 1890’s, as an initiative of the vibrant Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer who was based in the nearby city of Đakovo. Strossmayer certainly initiated not only a church that could serve with the capacity of 3000 people, but a wondrous architectural work indeed.

After several years of talking about taking a journey to Osijek, it finally happened in February 2011

then-now-the-cathedral-in-osijek3

photography credits: Biljana Karovska (2011)

I was staying at a friend’s place in Belgrade, and we decided to take a route to Osijek and explore the city and the surrounding region of Baranja for a couple of days. It was all there indeed, just like when you are seeing a city for the first time on a postcards.

then-now-the-osijek-cathedral

The futuristic lights of Osijek, photography credits: Biljana Karovska (2011)

Aside the astonishingly looking cathedral, the city center also had its own glamorous contemporary beat, a feel that was enhanced once we noticed the futuristic street lights that are installed all over the city square nearby the cathedral.

photography credits: Biljana Karovska

photography credits: Biljana Karovska (2011)

We enjoyed the city, and entered the cathedral to see how it looked inside as well. The entrance door is next to the main portral. Three gargoyles greet your entrance, and introduce you to the neo-gothic ornamentation that you can see inside the cathedral.

The interior of the cathedral was finished off in 1938-42 by the leading Croatian painter Mirko Rački, who had used motives from the Bible to cover the walls and the ceilings with brightly colored frescoes.

Finally, if you happen to roam inside Croatia, Osijek is the one city that you do not wish to miss.

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