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The Cathedral of St. James or St. Jacob (Katedrala sv. Jakova) in Šibenik, Croatia is a cathedral church of the Catholic Church in Croatia, the see of Šibenik bishopric. The Cathedral was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2000.

The building of the church was initiated in 1402. The actual work to transform the older church began in 1431. A multitude of Venetian and local craftsmen worked on it, in Gothic style.

In 1441, the city council of Sebenico/Šibenik, entrusted the work to a master of Zara (today Zadar) Giorgio Orsini or Juraj Dalmatinac ("George the Dalmatian"). He enlarged the cathedral with a side nave and apses, prepared it for the dome and added various sculptural decorations, including 71 small human heads on the outer sides and a baptistery, all in stone. Orsini-Dalmatinac worked on the cathedral up to his death in 1475.

Between 1475 and 1536 the work was overseen by Tuscan master Niccolò di Giovanni Fiorentino ("Nicholas the Florentine"). He continued the building in the Renaissance style, completing the dome, the outer sculptures of St. Michael, St. James (Jacob) and St. Mark, the roof and the upper façade. He built also built the triforias (parallel galleries) and worked on the presbytery and sanctuary.

After Fiorentino died in 1505, the construction was finally completed by another group of Venetian and local craftsmen.

The dome of the church was heavily damaged when Serbian forces shelled Šibenik in 1991. The damage since has been repaired.

• Portal - detail
• Main altar
• The cathedral dome and sculptures
• Human heads on the external part belong to unknown individuals, but it is commonly speculated that Juraj Dalmatinac made them after the local residents of Šibenik at the time.
• Side portal

External links

• Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik at UNESCO web site
• Cathedral of St. Jacob at Šibenik web site

v t e World Heritage Sites in Croatia
Cathedral of St. James, Šibenik Dubrovnik Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica, Poreč Plitvice Lakes Split with the Palace of Diocletian Stari Grad Plain Stećak Cista Velika Dubravka Trogir Venetian Works of Defence between 15th and 17th centuries Šibenik Zadar Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe Northern Velebit National Park Paklenica
with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia with Italy and Montenegro with Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine

• World Heritage Sites in Croatia
• Cathedrals in Croatia