ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH – SТ. TERESA OF AVILA

Church opportunities in the Kaloche Archdiocese began to be regulated by the issuance of a decree on the unique organization and management of the parish in 1738. The Franciscans did not keep those parts of the decree, which were in line with religious rules, therefore the archbishop decided to deprive the Friars of the right to lead the parish and to hand over it to the holy clergy. Negotiations between Archbishop Batanjañ and the city authorities about the construction of a new parish church began in December 1763 and lasted nearly ten years. Only in 1773 did the city agree to build a new church, provided the archbishop gave the building, and the city was labor and land. It was agreed that the Subotica would secure the revenues of the clergy and build the parish house. By agreement, the parish priest proposed the city in the future. The worship service, instead of the Franciscan church, took place in the Chapel of St. Hands,which for this occasion was extended with boards for the size of a church ship.
Orginal projects, modeled on the Pestan church of the disabled, were made by Ferenc Kaufman, a mason from Pest, but had to be processed on the spot on the orders of Gabar Glazer (Glaser), the authorized commissar of the Archbishop of Calas. The foundation stone was laid on October 15, 1773, on the day of Holy Theresa of Avila, the Spanish Carmelite monk from the 16th century, to which the church is dedicated. The report is the account of the Budim stonecutter Friderik Held (Held Frigyes) from whom a sculpture of the Mother of God is set, eight feet high, to be placed at the tower of the church between two towers. It took ten more years for the church to be held first The exact date of refreshment we do not know, most likely happened in October 1797, when the church was liberated.
The earliest project of the church, available to us, dates from 1789. clearly indicates that the church has retained its original form, foundations, masses and proportions to this day. Only subsequently upgraded semicircular lateral apses and decorative faceted facade faces deviate from their original appearance. The church is oriented east-west. For the location of the new church, the western edge of the swimming area was selected, dividing the settlement into two parts, in the part of the city where the Catholic living lived and west of the then existing cemetery.
In the constructive and decorative elements of architecture, in the forms of vaults and in the plastic processing of facades and interiors, the object carries the characteristic features of the baroque stylistic direction. Facade with two high-rise two-storey towers that give it monumentality, turned to the square in the east. Verticality of the building is emphasized by multi-profiled pilasters. Along the edges of the belfry are double pilasters, on the ground floor simple, on the first floor there are the Ionian capitals below which the garlands are lowered, and on the other there are pilasters with Corinth capitals.
The interior of the church begins in 1803. Side altars were built by families: Pertić, Lukić, Vojnić, Kopunović, Zelići Antunović, between 1803/20. years. The main altar was built by the city in 1804. The organ was made by Wencel Wencel from Baje in 1801, and the benches are the work of Mihal Lacbacher (Latsbacher Mihál), a carpenter’s master from Vienna. The original bells were set in 1798, but they were eventually changed to a larger one. The towers were originally covered by a shingle, and after the frequent leakage of the shingle it was replaced with copper sheet in 1839.
In June 1879, there was news in the newspapers, the appearance of cracks in the church stretching from the foundation to the roof of the church, as well as cracks in the vault of the ship. At the end of 1883, European famous expert Geza Cygler (Czigler Győző) from Budapest recommended the stabilization of the building, by ironing the iron bars. In the summer of 1888 the restoration of the church begins. Old auxiliary facilities were demolished, and instead of them side by side with the altar, according to Titus Mačković’s projects, two semicircular rooms were built, which statically fortified the building. New altars are placed in two side rooms.
The internal restoration of the church began in June 1893. The works were performed by Johan Klauzen (Jochan Clausen), an entrepreneur from Germany who studied in Vienna and Munich. Previously, he worked as a court painter of the Bishop of Đakovo Josip Juraj Štrosmajer. Under the contract, Clausen was supposed to obstruct and decorate the church and to paint the vault with 11 new frescoes, then to clean up 9 altar paintings and to restore the altars, and also had to place 20 wooden sculptures from the Tyrol master Ferdinand Stufler (Stuflesser) and to gild them. His task was to cover the church with square granite plates from Kelheim (Kehlheim). Clausen restored the benches and made all the decorations. In the end, he was obliged to make windshields for the ten front doors and to set up stained glass. The works were completed in autumn next year.In the interior of the church, the altar section is raised, and below it is a crypt. They are lateral semicircular sacristies. The altar apse, narrower than the naos, is attached to the central space, divided by two pilasters and openings into four grasses. Naos is twisted with semi-spherical vaults, which are supported by arches that rely on pilasters, built on the longitudinal sides of the ship. In the eastern part of the temple, above the entrance there is a chorus, the thalassoid lines are basically backed up on two massive columns.In the eastern part of the temple, above the entrance there is a chorus, the thalassoid lines are basically backed up on two massive columns.In the eastern part of the temple, above the entrance there is a chorus, the thalassoid lines are basically backed up on two massive columns.
The painting of the Church of St. Theresa of Avila and all the art objects in it are the best possible way to the climax of artistic work and the aesthetic determinant of the sacral creation of the city of Subotica and its surroundings.
In addition to the rich architectural elements that make up the monumentality of the interior of the church, the paintings, a deep carved predicament in the baroque-classical style of an unknown author, a gold-plated capitals, friezes, ornamental frames and luxurious wall decoration are also greatly contributed. Significant emphasis on the area is given to the outstanding Tyrol sculptures created in the workshop by Ferdinand Štufler. Authors of church works include: Schöfft József, Casper Schleibner, Emanuel Walch.
The last major restoration and conservation works have been carried out for 200 years since the foundation stone of the church has been refreshed, when the interior of the church has been completely renovated. The restoration and conservation of wall paintings and oil paintings on canvas were done by academic painters-conservators Dušan Nonin from Novi Sad and Nikola Jandrijević from Belgrade. On that occasion, the wall decoration was restored by Lajos Kiš from Sombor.