The Catholic Cathedral of St. Stephen (Katedralja e Shën Shtjefnit) in Shkodër used to be the largest church of its kind in the Balkans at the time of its completion in the second half of the 19th century. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Shkodër and is the most important Catholic shrine in Albania. A museum that takes you through the history of Albanian Catholicism is located by the cathedral.
The church was completed in 1865 as a replacement for the eponymous cathedral in the castle Rozafa, which the Turks had closed and converted into a mosque. Interestingly the new church’s construction was funded in part by the Ottoman Sultan himself. The cathedral took until 1898 to be finished.
Already during the Balkan wars, it suffered extensive damage during the siege by Montenegrin troops. It was further devastated by the atheist campaign announced by the Communist government in 1967. The cathedral was taken away from the Catholics and converted into a sports hall, the neighbouring archbishop’s palace became a hotel and the bell tower was blown up.
The cathedral was reconsecrated after the fall of the communist regime. During his visit to Albania in 1993, Pope John Paul II celebrated a mass here.
The three-aisled church was built in a historicist architectural style and is 74 metres long, 50 metres wide and 23 metres high. It can accommodate up to 7,000 worshippers. Inside, the richly decorated coffered ceiling is particularly striking.
Somewhat secluded behind the cathedral is the Diocesan Museum (Muzeu Dioqezan, Mon-Sat 9:00-13:00, 15-17 in summer), which guides you through the history of Albanian Catholicism from the 12th century to the present day. It pays great attention to the atheist campaign, during which the communist government had hundreds of religious buildings razed to the ground and imprisoned and executed thousands of clerics. Some of the objects on display come from the collections of the Atheist Museum, which operated in the Shkodër until 1982 and displayed exhibits from looted churches and monasteries.
Cover photo by Přemysl Vinš
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