Zagreb Cathedral

Zagreb Cathedral tickets: which one to buy

Before planning anything, check the current state of the building. The earthquake of March 2020 damaged the cathedral severely, brought down the top of one spire and forced the removal of both, and the restoration is a long-term project with scaffolding on the exterior and access to the interior limited or changed depending on the stage of work. Tour operators adjust their routes accordingly, and a walking tour of the upper town is the reliable way to see what is currently open, since local guides know the week's arrangements.

Those walks take in the cathedral, the market below it, the church with the tiled roof, the funicular and the museum of broken relationships. Entry to the cathedral is free; the treasury has its own small charge and has been closed for periods since the earthquake. Nothing here needs booking, and the whole upper town is walkable in a morning. Photographs of the cathedral before the earthquake are displayed on the square, which helps make sense of what is missing.

Visiting Zagreb Cathedral: what to see

The first cathedral was finished in 1217 and wrecked by the Tatar invasion twenty-five years later, after which the church was rebuilt and expanded in Gothic form and enclosed within defensive walls, parts of which still stand around the square. The earthquake of 1880 destroyed large sections, and the reconstruction directed by Hermann Bolle turned the building into the neo-Gothic cathedral that the city now recognises, with twin spires reaching over 108 metres, the tallest structure in Croatia.

Inside, the sacristy retains thirteenth-century wall painting of real quality, and the north wall carries an inscription in the Glagolitic alphabet, the script used by the Croatian church for centuries. The tomb of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, a figure still argued over in Croatian politics, lies behind the altar under a relief by Ivan Mestrovic. The treasury holds manuscripts and vestments going back to the eleventh century. Fragments of the medieval fortification walls survive beside the south front and are worth walking round before going in.

Zagreb Cathedral opening hours and the best time to go

Morning is best, partly for light and partly because the market immediately below the cathedral, which is the real heart of the city, works from dawn and thins out after one in the afternoon. Buy fruit there and eat it on the steps. Advent in Zagreb has become one of the better Christmas markets in Europe, spread across several squares through December, with the cathedral square among them. Summer is hot and the upper town is shaded and breezy, which makes it the sensible part of the day's walking.

The funicular, one of the shortest in the world, runs every ten minutes and saves the climb. The cannon on the hill fires at noon, daily, and startles everyone who does not know about it. Allow half an hour for the cathedral as currently accessible and a full morning for the upper town around it. Zagreb is a cafe city and the terraces on the street below the cathedral fill from mid-morning in any weather.