20 things you probably didn't know about the Zagreb Cathedral

Do you think you know everything there is to know about theZagreb Cathedral? Here are 20 things you probably didn't know about the Zagreb Cathedral!

1. Although in some documents you can find information that the height of two Cathedral spires is 105m, the accurate height is 108m.
2. The north spire (108,16m) is 4 cm lower than the south one (108,20m).
3. A few years ago, during the renovation of the Cathedral, in the south spire at 102m in height, construction workers found a little note (parchment) in a small glass capsule from 1898 which was written by the Cathedral architect Hermann Bolle itself.
4. On the 40m of the Cathedral, where the viewpoint was open to the public until the fifties oft he last century, is a whole wall with written and carved messages (mostly names of those who have been there).
5. The heaviest gargoyle (carved stone mythical creature) on the Zagreb Cathedral weighs around 1500 kg.
6. The first and only robbery of the Zagreb Cathedral Treasury was in 1927 when the fake Count who lived at the bell tower, stole plenaruim made of ivory (latter the object is returned).
7. During the celebration of the 900^th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Zagreb, Pope John Paul II conducted the holy mass at the Cathedral.
8. The Treasury of Zagreb Cathedral contains St. Ladislav's cloak from the eleventh century (visit is only permitted with the announcement in advance).
9. Before the time of electric, the church bell ringer used to live on the premises of the Cathedral in the north tower.
10. Zagreb Cathedral has 8 church bells (5 in North Tower, 3 in South Tower), the biggest one weight 6454 kg.
    
    
    
11. In the Cathedral, you can still find hand powered elevator from 1928 (not open to the public).
12. After a complete renovation of the Cathedral, visitors will be able to go with the new elevator to the viewpoint at 40m and from there by foot to 85m height viewpoints on both towers.
13. Like the famous stopped clock at Skopje main railway station, in front f the Zagreb Cathedral you can find an old clock where time is always 7:03 (the time stops exactly when the big earthquake hit Zagreb in 1880).
14. In fact the 1880 earthquake is actually „guilty“ for famous Hermann Bolle reconstruction of the Zagreb Cathedral after it (tower was damaged and main body of the church collapsed, so Bolle constructed two new towers).
15. A lot of limestones (many limestone buildings can suffer severe damage due to acid rain) was used in the construction of Cathedral towers - one of the reasons why the Cathedral is on the Perpetuum mobile
16. In the Zagreb City Museum (Opatička 20) you can find several rooms devoted to the Cathedral with preserved medieval sculptures, tombstones, fragments of architecture, and documentary photographs.
17. Inside the Archbishop's Palace by the Cathedral, there is the Romanesque chapel of St Stephen Protomartyr from 13th century – the oldest building in Zagreb survived in its original form!
18. The Zagreb Cathedral is reproduced on the reverse side of the Croatian 1000 kuna banknote.
19. The organ from the Zagreb Cathedral is classified among the top ten finest and top-quality organs in the world with more than six thousand flue pipes, seventy-eight registers, and four manuals.
20. In the sacristy of Zagreb Cathedral you can find Albrecht Dürer triptych – altar painting of Golgotha.