Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of Christ the Savior, located in the center of Banja Luka, was built relatively recently, at the beginning of the 21st century. In fact, his story began in 1925. Then it was called the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity and existed until 1941. During the war it was destroyed by a hitting bomb. Later, its ruins were demolished by the Ustashi, members of a Nazi organization that systematically exterminated Orthodox Serbs.
In post-war Yugoslavia, restoration was actively going on, including religious institutions. But the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was not lucky: in its place the authorities decided to erect a monument to the soldiers who fell in World War II. Then, in the sixties, another church was built in Banja Luka, which was consecrated in memory of the destroyed Church of the Holy Trinity.
And only with the collapse of the country, in the nineties, the monument to the fallen soldiers was moved to another place. Despite the civil war, the Orthodox community of Banja Luka received permission and began building a church.
In architectural terms, the temple repeats the appearance of the destroyed church - thanks to the surviving photographs and part of the design documentation. The architects only needed to combine the project with modern technologies. According to the general plan, four small corner domes surround a large central dome, more than 22 meters high. The gallery connects the church with a free-standing bell tower. It rises to a height of 45 meters and is crowned with a two-meter cross from above.
External masonry pleases the eye with stone plastic: niches, rosettes, crowns and pilasters. Travertine brought from the Middle East was used for the wall cladding. The stripes of this half-marble of yellow and red colors make the temple even more elegant. The façade elements are made of granite and white marble, the domes sparkle with gilded copper. The bells cast in Innsbruck are equipped with a computer system that sets the program for the bell ringing.
In the fall of 2004, in the presence of thousands of believers, the first liturgy was held in the church. The new church was given a new name - Christ the Savior.
