Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.17018/portal.2025.2
Protection of the Liturgical and Artistic Inventory of the Zagreb Cathedral after the 2020 Earthquakes
Janja Ferić Balenović
; Hrvatski restauratorski zavod, Služba za pokretnu baštinu
Sažetak
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saints Stephen and Ladislaus, in Zagreb, was severely damaged in two devastating earthquakes and a series of smaller tremors that struck Zagreb and the surrounding area in 2020. Following the earthquakes, an extensive conservation and restoration project was carried out (which resulted in a conservation study) along with numerous related activities in the buildings of the Archdiocese of Zagreb. One of the tasks of the Croatian Conservation Institute was to inspect, protect and look after the complete liturgical and artistic inventory during the structural reconstruction of the cathedral. Conservators from the City Institute for Cultural and Natural Heritage Conservation of the City of Zagreb coordinated conservator-restorers (specialising in stone sculpture, polychrome wooden sculpture, painting, furniture and metalwork), art historians and photographers, who conducted inspections, assessed their condition, and made protection recommendations for the entire inventory.
Based on the assessed condition and the risk of damage during structural repairs to the entire cathedral complex, a protection plan and budget for in situ protection of the inventory of the Zagreb cathedral was completed in June 2022. Materials and methods for its protection within the cathedral were individually specified.
By November 2022, the entire liturgical and artistic inventory of the cathedral and sacristy had been inspected. Based on a visual inspection and preliminary analyses, along with historical information and previous restorations, a catalogue of the liturgical and artistic inventory of the cathedral was created as a separate section of the conservation study. The catalogue includes records of the condition of each artwork and object, identifies and documents existing damage and/or contamination, and provides recommendations for preventive protection of the inventory during the structural restoration of the cathedral complex.
Preventive and curative conservation was carried out in November and December 2022 as necessary. The wooden inventory and paintings affected by mould due to high humidity were disinfected. The tempera-on-wood painting Descent from the Cross (Georg Gündter (?), first half of the 17th century) was severely damaged and in unstable condition, due to extremely fluctuating microclimatic conditions in the cathedral sacristy. It underwent acclimatisation, consolidation of lifted paint fragments, and adjustment of the cradling support in the workshop of the Croatian Conservation Institute.
The in situ protection of the inventory was organised by the Archdiocese of Zagreb, and the expert supervision was entrusted to the Croatian Conservation Institute. In accordance with the project, individual objects and artworks were protected in their original positions in the cathedral within wooden substructures covered with OSB boards, fitted with doors and openings for air circulation, and lined with permeable synthetic materials for protection against dust and falling plaster fragments. Surface dust was removed from artworks and objects designated for relocation during construction. They were then packed for transport and moved to secure storage facilities in Ludbreg and Dugo Selo. All inventory elements and/or parts that were dismantled or relocated from their original positions were labelled with identification tags.
Recommendations for further research, conservation and restoration for nearly all artworks and items of the cathedral’s liturgical inventory were based on their condition, assessed through preliminary inspection and analysis. Care for the inventory continued with monitoring of its condition during the construction work in the cathedral.
Ključne riječi
Zagreb cathedral; earthquake; artistic and liturgical inventory; inspection; protection
Hrčak ID:
341849
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.12.2025.
Posjeta: 306 *