The Cathedral of St Louis ( bg, катедрала „Свети Лудвиг“, ''katedrala „Sveti Ludvig“'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

, Bulgaria. Co-cathedral of the Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv together with the Cathedral of St Joseph in Sofia, it is one of the largest and most important Roman Catholic places of worship in the country. It was named after

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...

, commonly known as "Saint Louis". The cathedral was constructed in the 1850s, during the time of vicar Andrea Canova. The first

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

in Bulgaria was installed in the cathedral in 1861, later replaced with a newer and larger one. A fire severely damaged the cathedral in 1931 and destroyed the wood-carved ceiling. The cathedral was reconstructed, with Krastyo Stamatov creating the frescoes and

Kamen Petkov Kamen Petkov (Bulgarian: Камен Петков, 1863–1945) was a Bulgarian architect based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Biography Arch. Kamen Petkov was born in 1863 in the small village Beloptichene (today Ruzhintsi) Belogradchishko, son of ...

being the main architect. The cathedral was once again inaugurated on 8 May 1932. Architecturally, it features an eclectic combination of

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

and Neo-Baroque. The belfry was built in 1898 and was equipped with five bells cast in the German city of

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

, a gift from Pope Leo XIII. A new 12- stop

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

was installed in 1991. Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma, first wife of Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, is buried inside the cathedral, at the far end, to the right of the altar. An inscription in Bulgarian and Latin on her life can be read on both sides of the tomb.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral Of Saint Louis, Plovdiv Roman Catholic churches completed in 1861 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Bulgaria Churches in Plovdiv Baroque architecture in Bulgaria Roman Catholic churches in Bulgaria Burial sites of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Bulgaria) 1861 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Roman Catholic cathedrals in Bulgaria Neoclassical church buildings in Bulgaria