Church of St. Peter and Paul, Roman Catholic monastery and church in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Church of St. Peter and Paul is a Roman Catholic church with a Franciscan monastery in Mostar, set along the Radobolja River at the foot of Hum Hill. The church was built from 1866 to 1872 to designs by the Italian friar Matteo Lorenzoni, and the monastery, designed by Miloš Komadina, opened in 1894. Its bell tower reaches 107 metres, the tallest in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The last Catholic church in Mostar was demolished in 1563 and the Franciscans were expelled from Herzegovina. In 1862 Sultan Abdulaziz granted Ali-pasha Rizvanbegović's garden in Zahum for a new church; the cornerstone was laid on 7 March 1866 and Italian friar Matteo Lorenzoni was the architect. The monastery, designed by Miloš Komadina, opened on 6 December 1894. Yugoslav People's Army shelling burned the church on the night of 9–10 May 1992; it was rebuilt after the war.
The Franciscan complex is an active center of Catholic life in Mostar, drawing both worshippers and visitors curious about the religious side of the city. Masses are held regularly, and the monastery still houses a community of friars who shape the daily life of the place.
The church is located in the western part of Mostar and is easy to reach on foot from the old town area. Visitors are welcome outside of service times, when access to the interior is generally more straightforward.
The 107-metre bell tower is the tallest in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, according to the sources, in southeast Europe. Bells were first installed in it in 1927, and the church's stone floor was replaced with ceramic tiles a decade earlier, in 1917.
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