Saint Teresa of Ávila Cathedral in Požega is a beautiful example of Baroque architecture. The cathedral building was funded by Franjo Thauszy, Zagreb bishop, with 80,000 forints that were originally intended for repairs of the Požega fortress, owned by bishop Thauszy at the time. The project was endorsed by empress Maria Theresa in 1754 and building started in 1756. The construction took seven years and bishop Thauszy consecrated the new church on 24 July 1763.
The original tower was toppled by a storm in 1926 and had to be replaced by a new, 63 meters tall tower.
The interior of the Požega cathedral is decorated in playful baroque and rococo style. The interior is dominated by main altar of St. Teresa of Ávila, gift of bishop Franjo Thauszy, presented on the occasion of the consecration of the church. Among other altars in the cathedral, the altar of St. John of Nepomuk and the altar of St. Michael the Archangel are especially noteworthy. The former was a gift of Croatian viceroy Franjo Nádasdy, and the latter of Požega-born, Kutjevo parish priest Josip Maurović.
Furthermore, there is a beautiful pulpit - also a gift from bishop Thauszy, and rococo carved oak pews. Cathedral organ was built by Josip Brandl factory in Maribor and put in its place in 1900.
By the end of the 19th century, six octagonal stained-glass windows have been installed.
Interior of the Požega cathedral is also decorated by wall paintings painted by famous Croatian painters Celestin Medović and Oton Iveković in 1898 and 1899. Trinity painting above the main altar has been painted by two of them together, while on the ceiling of the apse there is painting of St. Teresa by Medović.
References:The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.