The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the World ( pl, Kolegiata Najświętszej Marii Panny Królowej Świata, german: Marienkirche) in Stargard is a noted architectural monument in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

. It closes the eastern part of the Old Town Market. The monument is a part of the

European Route of Brick Gothic The European Route of Brick Gothic (EuRoB) is an association of cities, towns, regions, municipalities and institutions that have Brick Gothic buildings in their territory or have their headquarters in a Brick Gothic building. The network also incl ...

. It is a

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 ...

, but inhabitants of the town commonly call it "the Cathedral". Stargard Kolegiata6

History

The oldest known mention of the Church's existence is from writings in the year 1248. The bishop of Cammin, having returned Stargard to Duke Barnim I, stipulated his law to the church. The Church, in a quickly developing Stargard, became too small for regular attendants. In 1292, construction started on a new and more impressive place of worship. In this phase, the Church had a three nave structure, with all

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s of equal height, and no tower. The cathedral can be classified to the cathedrals of the Wendic quarter, typical of the Hanseatic towns in area. The polygonal choir stall has a 5/8 conclusion similar to the St. Mary's Church of Lübeck. In the period from 1388 to about 1500, the last expansion of the structure emerged with the construction of the Presbytery and towers. The church and adjoining city walls represent one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (''

Pomnik historii Historic Monument ( pl, pomnik historii) is one of several categories of objects of cultural heritage (in the singular, '' zabytek'') in Poland. To be recognized as a Polish historic monument, an object must be declared such by the President ...

''), as designated October 4, 2010. Its listing is maintained by the

National Heritage Board of Poland The National Institute of Cultural Heritage of Poland ( pl, Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa NID) is a Polish governmental institution responsible for documenting cultural property and the intangible cultural heritage, as well as for supporting and ...

References

Stargard Stargard County 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Poland {{Poland-RC-church-stub