CATHEDRAL OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

Completed in 2004, this Orthodox cathedral (Katedralja Ngjallja e Krishtit) is the seat of Korça's metropolis (bishopric). Neo-Byzantine in style, it is of little architectural interest, but it is the city's most famous landmark. It stands at the crossroads of the city's three main thoroughfares: Republika boulevard, a north-south axis running along the cathedral's forecourt, St. George's pedestrian boulevard (Shën Gjergji), opposite and heading south, and Fan-Noli boulevard, a north-west-east axis running along the southern end of the forecourt. A sort of cream puff surrounded by two 22-meter-high bell towers reminiscent of pagodas, the cathedral was built on the site of the former ^19th-century St. George's Cathedral, destroyed in 1968, which itself stood on the site of an earlier ^16th-century Orthodox cathedral. It was the first Orthodox cathedral to be built in Albania after the fall of the Communist regime, from 1994 onwards, thanks to financial support from the Greek Orthodox Church and the Albanian diaspora. The interior is richly decorated with chandeliers, frescoes and icons with golden backgrounds, and a small carved wooden iconostasis. The cathedral is the main place of worship for the city's Orthodox community, which represents around 29% of the population (the highest proportion of any major city in the country).