Click on any photo for a better view.

Croatia is, primarily, a Roman Catholic country. This was especially obvious to us near the Cathedral, where religious bookstores proliferated and we saw more nuns, and younger nuns, than we'd seen anywhere except Rome.

The cathedral has had to be re-built in whole or in part several times over the years,
Construction first began in 1093 but that building was destroyed by the Tatars in 1242. Toward the end of the 15th century fortification walls were built as protection against Turkish invasion and some fragments remain.
Then, in 1880 the cathedral was severely damaged in an earthquake. So, much of the present cathedral is the result of this rebuilding.

Details from the facade.

The sarcophagus at left is that of Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac (1898-1960), a pastor beloved by the Croatians but an extremely controversial figure in other circles.

According to Robert D. Kaplan, the author of "Balkan Ghosts", the reason Pope John Paul II never visited Zagreb was that his not paying homage to Stepinac there(like the lady at left) would have angered the Croatians. On the other hand, paying homage to him would have angered everyone else.

We highly recommend "Balkan Ghosts", which goes into the fascinating  complexities of Croat history far better than we could.

At left is a wall full of plaques from the faithful, offered in thanksgiving that their various prayers were answered.

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Fortified watchtower erected in the 17th century on the south side of the Cathedral. It was built in response to the Ottoman threat.

We're always intrigued by reliquaries and this was particularly impressive. It was one of a pair, containing fragments of various long-dead saints. The close-up above shows one of several windows each containing a fragment, plus a faded Latin inscription of what it is and whose it was. Click for an enlarged view.

A statue of the Virgin stands high atop a pillar across the square.

A rather unusual piece, it's a beautifully made bas-relief of The Last Supper.

A sculptural portrayal of the Crucifixion; the calligraphy above it has us completely puzzled. It doesn't appear to be Cyrillic or Greek.

A close-up of St. Mary Magdalene in the sculpture scene at left.