Šibenik Cathedral
| Cathedral of Saint James Katedrala sv. Jakova (Croatian) |
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The Cathedral Dome
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Šibenik, Croatia |
| Geographic coordinates | 43°44′8.38″N 15°53′20.93″E / 43.7356611°N 15.8891472°ECoordinates: 43°44′8.38″N 15°53′20.93″E / 43.7356611°N 15.8891472°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Province | Diocese of Šibenik |
| Country | Croatia |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Cathedral |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Renaissance |
| Groundbreaking | 1431 |
| Completed | 1536 |
| Official name: The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik | |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iv |
| Designated | 2000 (24th Session) |
| Reference no. | 963 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Official name: Katedrala sv. Jakova | |
The Cathedral of St. James (Croatian: Katedrala sv. Jakova) in Šibenik, Croatia is a triple-nave basilica with three apses and a dome (32 m high inside) in the city of Šibenik, Croatia. It is the church of the Catholic Church in Croatia, and the see of the Šibenik diocese. It is also the most important architectural monument of the Renaissance in the entire country. Since 2000, the Cathedral has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
It is often mistakenly known as "St Jacob's", because Croatian, like many other languages, uses the same name for both "James" and "Jacob". It is dedicated to Saint James the Greater.
The building of the church was initiated in 1402, though plans on its construction had already begun in 1298, when Šibenik became a municipality. The actual work to transform the older Romanesque cathedral began in 1431. Built entirely of stone (limestone from a nearby stone quarry and marble from the island of Brač), it was completed in three phases, from 1433 to 1441, when the Grand City Council entrusted the work to local and Italian masters Francesco di Giacomo, Lorenzo Pincino, Pier Paolo Bussato, Bonino da Milano, and Giorgio da Sebenico (Juraj Dalmatinac) and to Croatian ones Andrija Budčić and Grubiš Šlafčić.
Initially, it was conceived as a simple church. With tremendous skill, Giorgio da Sebenico combined architectural and decorative elements to create a unified entity. He constructed the western main portal, the northern portal (The Lion Gate) and the first chapel. The western main portal was decorated by the Bonino da Milano, fist master mason, with statues of Christ and the twelve apostles. The bronze door was created in 1967 by the Šibenik sculptor Grga Antunac.
The motif of the northern portal, called the Lion Gate, are Adam and Eve standing on two lions, which is also seen at the Trogir Cathedral, but here Adam and Eve are on columns over the lions. These statues, together with St. Jacob and St. Peter, are the work of Juraj Dalmatinac, as he is called in Croatia. The statue of Eve draws the attention of onlookers as she has a belly button, while, according to the Bible, she was conceived from a rib of Adam.The bronze doors were made in 1967 by the Šibenik sculptor Grga Antunac.
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