November 13, 2021 – After many years of preparation and effort, the largest church mosaic in Croatia has been revealed to parishioners at the Church of Saint Joseph (Crkva sv. Josip) in Karlovac
The beautiful mosaic covers an incredible 120 square metres of wall behind the church's altar. Depicted in the mosaic is the birth of Jesus Christ.
The mosaic is the work of renowned Croatian artist Josip Botteri Dini who is based in Split. On 1st January 2021, Mr Josip Botteri Dini and several assistants began stacking coloured glass pieces into one-square-metre templates to construct the work.
Largest Church Mosaic in Croatia © Marina Buric / Visit Karlovac
Each template contains around 2500 mosaic parts. In total, the mosaic has around half a million pieces of coloured glass. It took Mr. Botteri Dini nine months to finish stacking 168 templates. After completing that long section of the task in Split, he then travelled to Karlovac and continued working there. The installation of the templates onto the wall took two weeks. Subsequently, six weeks of cleaning and aligning of the mosaic followed.
From the rear of St. Josip's Church © Marina Buric / Visit Karlovac
Josip Botteri Dini, the artist behind the largest church mosaic in Croatia
Although he now lives and works in Split, Josip Botteri Dini was actually born in Zagreb in 1943. He studied at the city's Academy of Fine Arts, notably in the class of famous Varaždin painter and graphic artist Miljenko Stančić. Josip graduated in 1968. Since the early 1970s, the work of Josip Botteri Dini has been exhibited over a hundred times throughout Croatia and overseas. In addition to painting, he works with mosaics and stained glass.
In detail, Croatia's largest church mosaic, in St. Josip's, Karlovac © Marina Buric / Visit Karlovac
Being the largest Church mosaic in Croatia, it was necessary to construct a 13-metre high scaffold for the work to be set on the church wall. Although Mr. Botteri Dini is now 78 years old, he climbed the scaffold every day to finish his work, helped by his brothers Juraj and Dezi. They are also in their seventies.
Nacionalno svetište svetog Josipa (National Shrine of St. Joseph) in Dubovac, Karlovac
Nacionalno svetište svetog Josipa (National Shrine of St. Joseph) in Dubovac, Karlovac
Otherwise known as Nacionalno svetište svetog Josipa (National Shrine of St. Joseph), the modern Church of Saint Joseph lies to the west of Karlovac city centre in Dubovac. In fact, it sits at the foot of the hill on which is placed the 13th-century castle fortress Old Town of Dubovac, from where the settlement gets its name.
Construction of the Church of St. Josip started in 1968 but its external facades were not completed until 1972. In 1975 its bell tower was built although it would take until 1980 for three new bells to be placed within it. In 1987, the church was dedicated as a national shrine for Saint Joseph, marking the 300th anniversary of Saint Joseph being assigned as Protector of the Homeland and the Croatian people. Saint Joseph is also the patron saint of Karlovac.
The largest Church mosaic in Croatia is not the only masterpiece to be found in the Church of St. Josip. Within the building is the permanent exhibition space Galeriji 'Martin Borković'. It contains works of art by 28 eminent Croatian painters and sculptors. You can see them every day after Holy Mass.
The Old Town of Dubovac © Ivo Biočina
The Old Town of Dubovac is one of the best-preserved buildings of its kind in Croatia. A popular tourist attraction, it hosts events and has one of the city's best restaurants on the ground floor of its atmospheric courtyard. With the addition of the largest Church mosaic in Croatia, visitors now have another excellent reason to stop off in the quiet Karlovac suburb of Dubovac.
You can read more about Karlovac in the Total Croatia guide to the city here. For the latest news about Karlovac, be sure to check Total Croatia News tagged pages here
