St. Mark's Church, Zagreb
Encyclopedia
Church of St. Mark is the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 of old Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

.

Overview

The Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 window found in its south facade is the best evidence that the church must have been built as early as the 13th century as is also the semicircular groundplan of St. Mary's chapel (later altered).

In the second half of the 14th century the church was radically reconstructed. It was then turned into a late Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 church of the three-nave type.
Massive round columns support heavy ribbed vaults cut in stone and an air of peace and sublimity characterizes the church interior in its simplicity. The most valuable part of St. Mark's Church is its south portal, considered to be the work of sculptors of the Parler family from Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 (end of the 14th century).

The Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...

 composition of the portal consists of fifteen effigies placed in eleven shallow niches. On top are the statues of Joseph and Mary with the infant Jesus, and below them one can see St. Mark and the Lion; the Twelve Apostles are placed on both sides of the portal (four wooden statues replaced the original ones which had been destroyed). In its artistic composition and the number of statues, this portal is the richest and the most valuable Gothic portal in South Eastern Europe.

Outside, on the northwest wall of the church lies the oldest coat of arms of Zagreb with the year 1499 engraved in it (the original is kept in the Zagreb City Museum
Zagreb City Museum
Zagreb City Museum or Museum of the City of Zagreb located in 20 Opatička Street, was established in 1907 by the Association of the Brethren of the Croatian Dragon . It is located in a restored monumental complex of the former Convent of the Poor Clares, of 1650...

).

On the roof, tiles are laid so that they represent the coat of arms of Zagreb (white castle on red background) and Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia.

As the corner of St. Mark's Square
St. Mark's Square, Zagreb
St. Mark's Square is a square located in the old part of Zagreb, Croatia, called Gradec or Gornji grad .In the center of square is located St. Mark's Church. The square also sports important governmental buildings: Banski dvori , Croatian Parliament and Constitutional Court of Croatia. On the...

 and the present day Street of Ćiril and Metod, was a Town Hall, the seat of the city administration in medieval times. The building has gone through a number of alteration and reconstruction phases, and today this old Town Hall still keeps its doors open for the meetings of the Zagreb City Council.

See also

  • History of Zagreb
    History of Zagreb
    Zagreb, Croatia is a city with a rich history, dating from Roman times to the present day. The oldest settlement in the urban area of the city is Andautonia, a Roman settlement in the place of today's Ščitarjevo. The name "Zagreb" is mentioned for the first time in 1094 at the founding of the...

  • Zagreb cathedral
    Zagreb cathedral
    Zagreb Cathedral on Kaptol is the most famous building in Zagreb, and the tallest building in Croatia. It is dedicated to the Holy Virgin's Ascension and to St. Stephen and St. Ladislaus. The cathedral is typically Gothic, as is its sacristy, which is of great architectonic value...

  • Kaptol
    Kaptol, Zagreb
    Kaptol is a part of Zagreb, Croatia in the upper town and it is the seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop of Zagreb.-History:The existence of Kaptol, the settlement on the east slope, was confirmed in 1094 when King Ladislaus founded the Zagreb diocese. The bishop, his residence and the Cathedral...

  • Gradec
    Gradec, Zagreb
    Gradec or Grič is a part of the Zagreb, Croatia, and together with Kaptol it is the mediaeval nucleus of the city. It's situated on the hill of Gornji Grad.- History :Gradec was given a royal charter by King Bela IV in 1242...

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