Description of the attraction
St. Patrick's Cathedral is Melbourne's second cathedral, built in the once popular neo-Gothic style. It is also one of five Australian temples that have the honorary status of "minor basilica" - which means that if the Pope comes here, the cathedral can become his residence.
In the middle of the 19th century, the Catholic community in Melbourne consisted of almost one hundred percent of the Irish, whose patron saint is St. Patrick. Therefore, it was decided to dedicate the new Catholic cathedral, which began to be built in the Eastern Hills region, to him.
The architect was William Wardell, one of the most famous masters of his time. The construction of the cathedral was supposed to begin in 1851, but the outbreak of the gold rush dragged almost the entire working population of the city to the gold mines, and there was not enough qualified labor force. The start of construction was postponed several times, and the first stone in the foundation of the cathedral was laid only in 1858.
The construction of the nave - the interior space - took about 10 years, but work on the rest of the building took even longer. Only in 1897 the cathedral was consecrated, but even then - almost 40 years after the start of construction - it was not finished! Several times the Catholic community had to organize a fundraiser for the complete completion of the construction, which took place only in 1939.
The work on the decoration of the cathedral lasted 20 years. Instead of stained glass windows, amber glass was installed, due to which the interior of the church is flooded with golden shimmering light. The floor is covered with mosaic panels, like the marble altar. By the way, the mosaics were made in Venice.
In 1937-1939, three towers were added to the cathedral - two on the western facade and one above the middle cross. The first two are 61.8 meters high. The tower rises 79.2 meters above the cross, and is crowned with a spire. The Celtic Cross, donated by the Irish and the government and installed on a 105-meter central spire, weighs about 1.5 tons!
Just like in St. Paul's Cathedral, an organ is installed in St. Patrick's Cathedral. It regularly hosts concerts of leading musicians and choral groups.
