Trogir - Cathedral of St. Lawrence

Trogir was founded by Greek colonists in the 3rd century BC. In Roman times this was an important harbour town. From the 9th century on Trogir was under Croatian rule and later part of the Byzantine empire. A diocese was established in the 11th century, in 1107 the Hungarian-Croatian King Coloman ("The Bookish", "Kálmán Könyves") granted the autonomy.

Saracen troops conquered Trogir in 1123 and demolished most of it. From 1420 upto 1797 Trogir belonged to the Republic of Venice. For a short while it belonged to the Napoleonic kingdom of Italy, but upto 1918 Trogir was part of the Habsburg Empire.

Trogir is more than 2000 years old. It grew under the influence of the ancient Greeks, the Romans, and the Venetians... Trogir's medieval core, surrounded by walls, comprises (about 10) churches, houses and palaces from the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Since 1997 the centre of Trogir is a "UNESCO World Heritage Site".

The Cathedral of St. Lawrence was erected from 1213 on the foundations of cathedral destroyed by the Saracens in 1123. Most of the work was done in the 13th century.

This cathedral is world wide known for Master Radovan´s portal seen here. The portal was carved by the local architect and sculptor Master Radovan (and his workshop). It was completed and signed by Radovan in 1240.


The tympamum over the main doors.

The grand drape has risen - and seen "on stage" is the Nativity.

Mary in childbed, Jesus behind her, watched by ox and ass. Below them, the midwives prepare the "First Bath", watched by Joseph. To the left are the shepherd (herding goats) - and to the right, the Magi approaching Bethlehem on horsebacks. There are many inscriptions. The main line is on the bottom, as it gives the title "post partum" (childbed), the author "Raduanum" and the date, as work was completed, when "Treguan from Florence was bishop of Trogir"

"Fundatur valve post partum virginis alme per Raduanum cunctis hac arte preclarum ut patet ex ipsis sculpturis et ex anagliphis anno milleno duceno bisque viceno presule Tuscano Floris ex urbe Treguano".