Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.17018/portal.2025.7
Zagreb Cathedral in the 17th and 18th centuries – Bishops as Patrons, and Hans Alberthal as Builder and Restorer
Katarina Horvat Levaj
; Institut za povijest umjetnosti
Sažetak
At the beginning of the 17th century, the cathedral in Zagreb was a three-nave, three-apse Gothic structure featuring a ribbed, net and stellar vault in the choir and sanctuary, and a hall-like nave with a cross-ribbed vault. The grandness of the building was further enhanced by a surrounding Renaissance fortress with round towers. The only significant architectural element left incomplete was the cathedral’s towers, which had been built only to the height of the façade.
A new era, as had happened many times before, was marked by an unfortunate event: lightning struck the roof in 1624 and damaged, among other things, the vault of the sanctuary. Bishop Franjo Ergeljski decided to restore the vault in its existing Late Gothic form, and documents reveal that the work was carried out by master builder Alberthal. This was Hans Nicolaus Alberthal of Trebnje, in Carniola, whom the bishop later entrusted with the construction of the southern tower. One particularly valuable document is the builder’s statement of 1633 that includes a description of the work and an accompanying blueprint. According to the plan, the bell tower was to be built as a Renaissance structure with cordon cornices featuring biforas and topped with a dome. The construction, with some interruptions, lasted almost ten years. On the basis of records and photographs, we know that the bell tower (which was rebuilt in the Gothic style after the 1880 earthquake) was built according to this plan. However, the finished tower differs from Alberthal’s design in that its openings increase in size towards the top, and its silhouette narrows as it rises – elements that are Gothic deviations from the Renaissance project and can be attributed to the preferences of the patrons.
The construction of the southern tower prompted a renovation of the cathedral’s façade. In 1640, Bishop Benedikt Vinković commissioned a new main portal, drawing inspiration from an even older model: the Romanesque portal of the Cistercian church in Ják, where he had previously served as abbot. However, the cathedral façade remained unfinished (lacking a second tower and gable), likely due to the great fire of 1645, which damaged the cathedral choir. Bishop Martin Bogdan re-hired Alberthal, instructing him to rebuild the vault “in its original form” as a Late Gothic net vault. This vault collapsed in the 1880 earthquake, but its appearance was preserved in old drawings.
During the 18th century, there was no need for major architectural intervention on the cathedral, so the bishops focused on furnishing the interior with lavish Baroque marble altars. One of the sculptors, Franz Pack of Graz, created a Late Baroque marble frame within the façade portal in 1774.
Among the various restoration and construction efforts on the Gothic cathedral during the Baroque period, the most significant projects were the construction of one of the two planned towers and the restoration of the choir and sanctuary vault, undertaken in two phases. Chosen by Zagreb bishops, the work was carried out over two decades by Hans Alberthal of Trebnje. The fact that the builder of the Zagreb cathedral tower shared a name with the renowned architect from Roveredo in Misox, Graubünden, who gained fame for architectural projects in southern Germany, Tyrol and Bratislava, led some scholars to conclude that they were the same person. Recent research, including graphological signature analyses, has shown that this is not the case. Further research has allowed for a more precise reconstruction of Alberthal of Trebnje’s life and work, from his involvement in the restoration of the Cistercian church in Stična and possibly the collegiate church in Novo Mesto (around 1620), through his work on the vault of the Zagreb cathedral and the installation of the main altar (1628–1632), followed by the first phase of building of the cathedral tower (1633–1641), to his engagement on the Croatian border (1641), completion of the cathedral tower (1641–1644), construction of the vault in the parish church in Trebnje (1644–1645), and finally the restoration of the choir of the Zagreb cathedral and reconstruction of the vault (1645–1648).
Finally, the question arises of how to evaluate the Baroque phase of the Zagreb cathedral without an actual Baroque transformation. Although damage from catastrophic events provided an opportunity for Baroque intervention, this opportunity was not taken. Instead, necessary repairs were carried out with a focus on preserving the existing condition, and further architectural completion of this grand, historically layered complex was executed using stylistic elements selected from older periods. The choice of different styles – Gothic for the interior and Renaissance for the tower – can be traced to Central European culture, where Gothic and Renaissance elements continued to be used throughout the 17th century even as Baroque spatial innovations spread from Italy.
Ključne riječi
Zagreb; cathedral; bishops; Hans Alberthal; tower; vault; Gothic; Renaissance; Baroque
Hrčak ID:
342546
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.12.2025.
Posjeta: 464 *