1. There will be an ancient, beautiful cathedral.
2. That cathedral will have some sort of renovation platforms or scaffolding around it.
Welcome to Zagreb, then, which qualifies for this list. The church in question in this case is the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saints Stephen and Ladislaus. That's a lot to put on an envelope or a blog, so this will stick to the name of Zagreb Cathedral. It was the second-tallest building in all of Croatia, as a skyscraper in Split passed it in 2023.
The space has hosted religious buildings for more than 1,000 years. None of them have held up as long as people would have liked, due to the fact that it is sitting on ground that often suffers from earthquakes. The people of Zagreb have been fixing the place for centuries. One of the biggest incidents came in 1880, when the area was hit by a huge earthquake that caused terrific damage. The parishioners decided to test fate by rebuilding it with a couple of huge towers.
Then came the 2020 earthquake, which also caused serious damage - particularly to the towers. Engineers have been trying to figure out to how to make the next version better. The twin towers were shortened for the time being while the careful reconstruction process continues. We did not go inside the cathedral during our visit, although it wasn't clear at the time if the building was fully open or still under repair. Obviously work on the towers continues.
Here's a look at what the area looked like before the earthquake of 2020 hit:
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