Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and St. Bartholomew ( pl, Kolegiata Świętego Krzyża i św. Bartłomieja) in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

, Poland, is a two-storey brick

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

on the Ostrów Tumski (Cathedral Island), considered the second most important Roman Catholic church in Wrocław. It is one the historic burial sites of Polish monarchs. Along with the Old Town of Wrocław, it is listed as a Historic Monument of Poland.

History

The church was founded in 1288 by Polish monarch

Henryk IV Probus Henryk IV Probus (Latin for ''the Righteous'') ( pl, Henryk IV Probus or ''Prawy''; german: Heinrich IV. der Gerechte) ( – 23 June 1290) was a member of the Silesian branch of the royal Polish Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wro ...

, who was eventually buried in the church after his death in 1290, when the church was still under construction. Construction was continued by, among others, bishop

Nanker Nanker (born Jan Kołda; also known as Nankier; ca. 1270–1341) was a Polish nobleman of Oksza coat of arms as well as bishop of Kraków (1320–1326) and bishop of Wrocław (1326–1341). Supporter of King Ladislaus I the Short and archbisho ...

and parish priest Jan Stanko. The upper church (Holy Cross Church) contains an epitaph of bishop Nanker. 15h-century Polish chronicler

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histor ...

described the church as "beautiful and magnificent" following his visits in Wrocław. From 1502 to 1538 renown astronomer

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...

was a member of the collegiate chapter. In 1821 Polish poet

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Early life Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz was born 6 February 1758 in Skoki, nea ...

listened to a Polish sermon in the church. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the lower church (St. Bartholomew Church) was used by ethnic Germans until 1956 and later by the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's C ...

until 1997.

References

External links

planergo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and St. Bartholomew in Wroclaw Gothic architecture in Wrocław Churches in Wrocław Burial sites of the Opavian Přemyslids Burial sites of the Piast dynasty Double churches 13th-century establishments in Poland