Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is equally known as the Sarajevo Cathedral - thanks to its status as the largest temple in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In 1878, Bosnia was annexed to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose leading religion was Catholicism. The Diocese of Sarajevo (then the city was called Vrhbosna) immediately rose to the status of an archdiocese. Which required the appropriate cathedral. The project of the cathedral was developed by the famous architect of the Viennese school Josip Wantsas. In the neo-Gothic style of the building, he added elements of Romanesque church architecture, which gave the temple austere grandeur. The construction was completed in 1889 and in September the cathedral would have been consecrated in the name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - a new holiday that arose in the 19th century.
Despite the predominance of adherents of Islam in Sarajevo, the cathedral has been maintained in good condition at all times as a symbol of the city. Only in the last century it was restored twice. During the siege of Sarajevo during the Balkan War, the building was damaged by bombing. To the credit of the city authorities, it was among the first to be restored. During the visit of Pope John Paul II to the newly formed country in April 1997, the head of the Catholic Church visited the restored cathedral.
Today this temple is the main Catholic cathedral in the country, the seat of the only archdiocese and the only cardinal. The main thing is that this architectural monument remains one of the best adornments of the city. The main altar is made of white marble from the Carrara deposits, belfries delight with the melodies of five bells cast in Ljubljana, and square clock towers rise 43 meters above the city.
