St Mary Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Virgin Mary built in the Romanesque style, probably dates from the eleventh or twelveth century. Around the cathedral, i.e. in front of the portal and on the backside of the apse, the paleo-Christian tombs, mosaics, and ceramics were found. The Romanesque arches on the portal are of the North Italian influence confirming the origin of a single apse of this cathedral. The church has become more spacious by building the sacristy in 1497 bearing the inscrption “Andreas de Mutina” while before 1752 the side naves were built. It was severely damaged during the bombardement of Senj in 1943 an it was rebuilt after the World War II. It is 39 m long and 21.90 m wide. The sacristy is on the left of the newly decorated altar. The baroque preaching stand with the inscription from 1757 mentioning the offering made by Klara Udragović, sister of the poet Mateša Kuhačević, is situated sideway from the midle nave. The most ancient monument in the cathedral is the tomb of Ivan de Cardinalibus (1386-1392), the Bishop of Senj, built in 1392 by his successor Bishop Leonard de Cardinalibus (1392-1405) who is also buried there. The bust of Mirko Ožegović, the Bishop of Senj, is situated in the side nave near the sacristy. The Renaissance relief of St. Trinity was moved to cathedral in 1865 from the St.Peter’s cementery along the Knežić promenade and it bears the coats of arms with the inscription from 1491. According to the tradition, the bishop of Senj are buried in the cathedral’s crypt. The graveyard from the beginning of the nineteenth century is situated on the Cimiter square and around the cathedral when the new one was built. The tower bell was built in 1900 according to the blueprints of Josip pl. Vancaš.