Crkva Gospe od Mora, Roman Catholic church in San Policarpo, Pula, Croatia.
Crkva Gospe od Mora stands on the Sveti Polikarp hill in Pula, built from 1891 to 1898 in a mix of neo-Byzantine and neo-Romantic styles. Its walls alternate bands of white Istrian stone from the Brijuni islands with red marble from the Oprtlja and Brtonigla quarries. A 30-metre bell tower by Natale Tommasi rises beside it, topped by a flat roof and a bronze angel by Professor Raffaette of Trento.
Construction took place between 1891 and 1898 under the direction of Admiral Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck for use by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Its completion marked an important moment in Pula's religious development during the empire's rule of the city.
Built as the church of the Austro-Hungarian k.u.k. Kriegsmarine, it served the navy until the end of the First World War and is now dedicated to Our Lady of the Sea. Admiral Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck was buried here in 1897. The interior holds mosaics compared to those of the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč and St Mark's in Venice.
The church sits in a quiet residential area and is easily reached on foot if you are nearby. It is worth checking opening hours ahead of your visit, as regular services may affect when visitors can go inside.
The project involved three different architects, with Friedrich von Schmidt playing a key role in shaping the design and overall appearance. This collaboration among multiple master architects made the building an unusual example of construction practices from that era.
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