October 14, 2023 – The Zagreb Cathedral reconstruction never seems to come to an end. The first mass in its renovated interior, however, is expected by the end of this year.
“If the Pelješac Bridge or the Zadar Sports Hall, objects on which I also worked, were built with huge amounts of material in months or maybe a few years, it makes no sense to say that the Zagreb cathedral reconstruction lasts 30 years.
There is not nearly the same amount of material on the cathedral as these grandiose objects carry. There is, of course, a lot of human, stonemasonry work, but it is, all the same, from a construction point of view, considering today’s technology and the development of the profession, a very small amount of material”. This is the view of prof. Dr. Damir Lazarević from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Zagreb on the topic of Zagreb Cathedral reconstruction after the 2020 earthquake, writes 24Sata.
“Pieces of solid stone that come down weigh from 100 to 400 kilograms. Dismantling is done stone by stone because the material has been loosened by the earthquake, and there is a danger that it will fall apart during removal. Because of this, it was not possible to approach the model of lowering the current tops of the towers, the kind of crane that lowered the top of the northern tower in one piece”, Lazarevic said.
“Works in the interior, on the vaults of all three naves, are nearing completion. Vaults, braces, rehabilitation on the lower and upper sides – all is going according to plan, there are no surprises, and we are slowly bringing that part of the project to an end,” he continues.
He emphasized that the priority is security in front of and inside the cathedral. The author of the structural renovation concept said that it is their wish that a mass be celebrated in the cathedral this Christmas.
The restoration of the cathedral all in all should take up to 10 years, maybe less, writes the Informative Catholic Agency.
