Cathedral of the Divine Saviour

Cathedral of the Divine Saviour
Katedrála Božského Spasitele
Cathedral of the Divine Saviour Location in the Czech Republic
49°50′09″N 18°17′20″E
Location	Ostrava
Country	Czech Republic
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Active
Founded	1883
Dedication	Divine Saviour
Architecture
Functional status	Cathedral
Architect(s)	Gustav Meretta
Architectural type	Church
Style	Neo-Romanesque
Years built	1883-1889
Specifications
Capacity	4000 people
Number of spires	2
Administration
Diocese	Ostrava-Opava
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Martin David

Cathedral of the Divine Saviour (Czech: Katedrála Božského Spasitele), located in the center of Ostrava, is the second largest Roman Catholic cathedral in Moravia and Silesia (after the basilica in Velehrad near Uherské Hradiště). This three-nave Neo-Renaissance basilica with a semi-circular apse and two 67m high towers is dating since 1889 (building started in 1883). The church was designed by Gustav Meretta, the official architect of the Archbishop of Olomouc, and the interior by Max von Ferstel.

The main nave is 14 m wide and 22 m high, the two side aisles are 7 m wide and 10 m high each. The seating capacity of the cathedral is 4,000 people. On May 30, 1996, Pope John Paul II established the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava, and soon after the basilica has been dignified into a cathedral. In 1998, a new neo-Baroque organ was installed.

History

On 23 May 1871 the city council spoke about the intention of building a new parish church, which would eventually replace the old parish church of St Wenceslas. The old church could not contain the increasing number of believers and failed to comply with official requirements for public buildings. After a fire inspection took place on 2 January 1882, the district marshal in Místek decided to build a new church. Thus, at a council meeting on 5 October 1882 the agreements for the construction of a new parish church were done.

Interior of the Cathedral

The foundation stone was laid by Mayor Anton Lux and the Reverend Josef Spurný on October 4, 1883. AT that time church committees were competing in Moravia which was established under provincial laws dating from 1864 and 1874. It was the supervisory and executive bodies, which were often the purchaser of furniture projects and new churches, significantly encroached into their final form. Their arguments focused, in particular, on situations where the parish volume was small. The church of the Divine Saviour would serve 4 municipalities which, upon its construction, should contribute a proportionate financial amount. However, these villages managed their own parish church and, therefore Ostravanians' contributions to the construction of the church were often the cause of discord. Other financial flow was rather paradoxical. The Archdiocese of Olomouc, who took patronage of the church, was obliged, by patronage law, to pay a third of construction costs, worth just under 33,000 florins. Contributions also flowed in from Jewish entrepreneurs, like Baron Rotschild and the Gutmannové brothers.

See also

• List of cathedrals in the Czech Republic