SAINT-PAUL-AND-ST. PETER'S CHURCH
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Recognizable by its two symmetrical 65 m high bell towers, this Roman Catholic church (Kisha e Shën Palit dhe Shën Pjetrit, Crkva Svetog Pavla i Petra) is the new symbol of Gjakova/Đakovica, a town with a Muslim majority. Consecrated in 2001, it was erected on the site of a church of the same name built between 1917 and 1964, and destroyed in 1999. The latter did not look at all like the present church (it had only a bell tower, for example). But it is the work of the Franciscan order, which, under the influence of the Croatian clergy and the Vatican, is currently dotting the Balkans with monumental churches in order to attract new believers. This is the case, for example, with the new cathedral of St. Mother Teresa in Pristina, which is completely out of proportion. Here, the building has no great artistic or architectural value either, but the aim is to assert the return in force of the Catholics. Besides, it is a bit of a sticking point with the Muslim Albanians, who are not happy with the recent wave of conversions. The second largest Catholic church in the city is located almost opposite. It is the church of Saint Anthony (Kisha Shën Antonit, Crkva Svetog Antonija). Better known under the Albanian name of Shën Ndout (contraction of Shën Antoni i Padovës), it is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua. The original building, which dated from 1932, was also destroyed in 1999, and then rebuilt more or less faithfully.
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