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 A stunning new series of silver coins minted for the Cook Islands pays tribute to famous Cathedrals throughout the world. Beautifully designed, featuring stained glass windows, the series bears the title “The Windows of Heaven”.

The obverse of the coin represents an effigy of Elizabeth II as well as the inscription of the Queen’s name. There is a full-colour window ins ert next to the portrait. The obverse also contains the legends indicating the face value of the coin and the name of the issuing country.

The reverse design features the image of the magnificent Zagreb Cathedral, with a plan of the outlay of the cathedral below. Being a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe, the temple has an exceptional intrinsic val ue and contains artistic masterpieces, one of them reflected in a full-colour window insert on the reverse of this silver coin. The upper part of the coin contains the legend denoting the name of the series. Below the images, there are the inscriptions of the name of the city and the year of mintage.

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•     Contains  50 grams of .925 Silver.

•     Coin is decorated with real stained glass

•     Each coin comes in a special box with a COA.

•     Strict limited mintage of only 2000 coins.

•     Obverse: Effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, “Cook Islands”, and the legal tender value of 10 Dollars

•     Reverse: A very high quality rendition of Zagreb Cathedral
  

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 In the series of Windows of Heaven you can find:

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  2010 Windows of Heaven – Cologne

  2011 Windows of Heaven – Notre Dame de Paris

  2011 Windows of Heaven – Sevilla

  2011 Windows of Heaven – Westminster Abbey London

  2011 Windows of History – Titanic

  2012 Windows of Heaven – Bethlehem

  2012 Windows of Heaven – Cracow St Francis

  2012 Windows of Heaven – St Isaac Cathedral

  2013 Windows of Heaven – Chartres

  2013 Windows of Heaven – Lourdes

  2013 Windows of Heaven – Milan Cathedral

  2013 Windows of History – Grand Central Terminal

  2014 Windows of Heaven – Buenos Aires

  2014 Windows of Heaven – Sacre Coeur

  2014 Windows of Heaven – Sacre Coeur

  2014 Windows of Heaven – Washington National Cathedral – Special Editon

  2014 Windows of Heaven Giants – Cologne Cathedral – Special Edition

  2015 Windows of Heaven – Zagreb Cathedral

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  History:

The Zagreb Cathedral on Kaptol is a Roman Catholic institution and not only the tallest building in Croatia, but also the most monumental sacral building in Gothic style southeast of the Alps. It is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and to kings Saint Stephen and Saint Ladislaus. The cathedral is typically Gothic, as is its sacristy, which is of great architectural value. Its prominent spires are considered to be landmarks as they are visible from most parts of the city.

In 1093 when king Ladislaus (1040-1095) moved the bishop’s chair from Sisak to Zagreb, he proclaimed the existing church as a cathedral. Construction on the cathedral started shortly after his death and was finished in 1217 and consecrated by king Andrew II of Hungary. The building was destroyed by the Tatars in 1242 but rebuilt by bishop Timotej (1263-1287) a few years later . At the end of the 15th century, the Ottoman Empire invaded Bosnia and Croatia, triggering the construction of fortification walls around the cathedral, some of which are still intact. In the 17th century, a fortified renaissance watchtower was erected on the south side, and was used as a military observation point, because of the Ottoman threat.

The cathedral was severely damaged in the 1880 Zagreb earthquake. The main nave collapsed and the tower was damaged beyond repair. The restoration of the cathedral in the Neo-Gothic style was led by Hermann Bollé, bringing the cathedral to its present form. As part of that restoration, two spires 108 m (354 ft) high were raised on the western side, both of which are now in the process of being restored as part of an extensive general restoration of the cathedral.

The cathedral is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 1000 kuna banknote issued in 1993.

When facing the portal, the building is 46 meters wide and 108 meters high. The cathedral contains a relief of Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac with Christ done by the Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović. The cathedral was visited by Pope Benedict XVI on 5 June 2011 where he celebrated Sunday Vespers and prayed before the tomb of Blessed Aloysius Stepinac.

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Zagreb Cathedral