PM: €42m invested in restoration of Zagreb Cathedral

Hina - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday, following a meeting with Zagreb Archbishop Dražen Kutleša and a joint tour of the Zagreb Cathedral, that €42 million has so far been invested in the cathedral's restoration and €15 million in the restoration of the Archbishop's Palace.

The goal following today's meeting, given the significant progress made in the structural restoration, is to enable the celebration of Christmas Mass in the cathedral this year, Plenković announced.

He said this would send an important message to the faithful and to all those who have been waiting for years for the cathedral to become at least partially functional again.

"We have received assurances from the designers and contractors that this goal is realistic and will be achieved," Plenković added.

He noted that this would require additional effort, as the cathedral restoration is currently one of the most complex heritage reconstruction projects in Europe and the world. "The upper sections of the cathedral's towers have been removed, so it now stands at 72 of its original 108 metres."

The prime minister added that everyone involved, including several hundred experts from various fields, is committed to doing everything necessary to complete the full restoration of the Zagreb Cathedral in the coming years.

Archbishop Kutleša said that the contractors working on the cathedral had accomplished remarkable feats and expressed his wish for the cathedral to be ready for liturgical celebrations as soon as possible, so that the faithful could return to it without delay.

The Rector of the University of Zagreb, Stjepan Lakušić, said the cathedral was the most valuable and significant building in Croatia.

From an engineering perspective, all solutions adopted ensure that the cathedral is safe and resilient, and all the necessary conditions have been met for work to begin on the interior, he said.

The entire structure has been further reinforced, making the cathedral safe for all ongoing work.

Lakušić said that the engineering task was to ensure the cathedral could be used, so all prerequisites and actions were aligned with that aim. The next steps have been defined to secure a portion of the roof structure, which will be key in the next phase of the project to enable simultaneous use of the cathedral and continuation of the restoration.

The meeting was also attended by Construction Minister Branko Bačić and Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek.

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