Wrocław Cathedral
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wrocław, ( pl, Archikatedra św. Jana Chrzciciela, german: Breslauer Dom, Kathedrale St. Johannes des Täufers), is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław and a landmark of the city of
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 ...
in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. The
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
, located in the Ostrów Tumski district, is a Gothic church with
Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
additions. The current standing cathedral is the fourth church to have been built on the site.


History

A first church at the location of the present cathedral was built under Přemyslid rule in the mid 10th century, a fieldstone building with one
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 ...
about in length, including a distinctive
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
and an
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
. After the Polish conquest of
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
and the founding of the Wrocław diocese under the
Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...
duke
Bolesław I Chrobry Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: *Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, Pol ...
about 1000, this Bohemian church was replaced by a larger basilical structure with three naves, a crypt, and towers on its eastern side. The first cathedral was however soon destroyed, probably by the invading troops of Duke Bretislaus of Bohemia around 1039. A larger, Romanesque-style church was soon built in its place in the times of Duke Casimir I, and expanded similar to
Płock Cathedral Płock Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Płocka), or the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Masovia, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Płock, in central Poland. It is an example of 12th-century Romanesque architecture and is the oldest and ...
on the behest of Bishop Walter of Malonne in 1158. After the end of the
Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire (1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
, the church was again largely rebuilt in the present-day Brick Gothic style. It was the first building of the city to be made of brick when construction of the new
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
and
ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...
started in 1244. The nave with sacristy and the basements of the prominent western steeples were added under 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 ...
until 1341. On 19 June 1540 a fire destroyed the roof, which was restored 16 years later in
Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought a ...
. Another fire, on 9 June 1759, burnt the towers, roof, sacristy and quire. The damage was slowly repaired during the following 150 years. Between 1873 and 1875, Karl Lüdecke rebuilt the interior and western side in
neogothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style. Further work was done at the beginning of the 20th century by Hugo Hartung, especially on the towers ruined during the 1759 fire. The cathedral was severely damaged (about 70% of the building) during the Siege of Breslau and heavy bombing by the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
in the last days of
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 opposing ...
. Parts of the interior fittings were saved and are now on display at the National Museum in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. The initial reconstruction of the church lasted until 1951, when it was reconsecrated by Archbishop
Stefan Wyszyński Stefan Wyszyński (3 August 1901 – 28 May 1981) was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of Lublin from 1946 to 1948, archbishop of Warsaw and archbishop of Gniezno from 1948 to 1981. He was created a cardinal on ...
. In the following years, additional aspects were rebuilt and renovated. The original, conical shape of the towers was restored only in 1991. The cathedral holds the largest pipe organ in Poland, built in 1913 by E.F. Walcker & Sons of
Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is s ...
,
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, Germany, for the
Centennial Hall Centennial Hall (german: Jahrhunderthalle) may refer to: in Canada * Centennial Hall (London, Ontario), London, Ontario, Canada * Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada * Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium, former name of TCU Place in ...
— formerly the largest organ in the world.


Architecture and furnishings

The current cathedral is a three-nave Gothic oriented
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
surrounded by an ambulatory. The cathedral has three entrances: the main western portal and two later entrances from the north and south.


Chapels

*Behind the choir are three chapels: ** Chapel of St. Elizabeth in the south was built 1682-1700 as the mausoleum of Bishop
Frederick of Hesse-Darmstadt Frederick of Hesse-Darmstadt (28 February 1616 – 19 February 1682) was a German protestant and soldier who converted to Catholicism, became a cardinal and was appointed Crown-cardinal of Austria. Early life Frederick was born in Darmstadt, Ger ...
. The chapel was dedicated to St.
Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...
, whose cult had been popular in the city since the Middle Ages. It is a fine example of baroque architecture and forms the counterpoint of the Elector's Chapel. The design was probably the work of Giacome Schianzi, who is also credited with the paintings in the dome, which, along with wall paintings by Andreas Kowalski, show the death, burial, and heavenly glory of St. Elizabeth. The statue of St. Elizabeth was created by
Ercole Ferrata Ercole Ferrata (1610 – 10 July 1686) was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque. Biography A native of Pellio Inferiore, near Como, Ferrata initially apprenticed with Alessandro Algardi, and became one of his prime assistants. When hi ...
, a student of Bernini's. Facing the altar on the other side of the chapel is the cardinal's tomb, the work of Domenico Guidi, another of Bernini's pupils. It depicts the kneeling cardinal surrounded by allegories of Truth and Eternity. Above the door to the church is a bust of the cardinal executed by the workshop of Bernini. ** The Gothic Marian Chapel directly behind the choir was built by the architect Peschel under the orders of Bishop Przecław of Pogorzela from 1354 to 1365. Apart from the tomb of its founder it is also contains the tomb of Bishop Johann IV Roth, the work of Peter Fischer the Elder of Nuremberg. A famous story from World War II concerned a famously beautiful marble statue of the Virgin and Child, created by Carl Johann Steinhäuser in 1854, that was kept in the chapel. When the Russians bombed the cathedral, the flames miraculously stopped in front of the fallen statue, preserving the three back chapels from destruction. Despite the fall, bombing, and general destruction, the statue remained unharmed. ** The northern Baroque Elector's Chapel, or the Chapel of Corpus Christi, was built from 1716 to 1724 as the mausoleum of bishop
Count Palatine Francis Louis of Neuburg Francis Louis of Palatinate-Neuburg (; 18 July 1664 – 6 April 1732) was bishop and archbishop of several dioceses, prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, and of the Teutonic Order. Life He was born in Neuburg an der Donau as son of Phili ...
. Francis Louis was also bishop of
Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
and
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...
, making him one of the electors eligible to choose the Holy Roman Emperor, hence the name of the chapel. The designer was the Viennese architect
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (20 July 1656 – 5 April 1723) was an Austrian architect, sculptor, engraver, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire. His inf ...
. The decorative paintings were the work of
Carlo Carlone Carlo Innocenzo Carlone or Carloni (1686–1775) was an Italian painter and engraver, active especially in Germany. Biography He was a native of Scaria, near Como, in Lombardy, but may have been from the Carloni family of Genoese painters. H ...
and the sculptures that of
Ferdinand Brokoff Ferdinand Maxmilian Brokoff (Czech: ''Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokoff''; 12 September 1688 – 8 March 1731) was a sculptor and carver of the Baroque era. Life and career He was born in Červený Hrádek near Jirkov, Bohemia, the second son of E ...
. * The Chapel of St. John the Baptist, adjacent to the north-east tower of the cathedral, was built in 1408 and later rebuilt as the mausoleum of bishop
Johann V Thurzo Jan V Thurzo ( hu, Thurzó V. János; pl, Jan V Turzo; 1464–1520) was a 15th-century Bishop of Diocese of Wroclaw, Wroclaw in Silesia, now Poland. A great patron and lover of the arts and sciences, Martin Luther called him "the greatest bis ...
. * The Redeemer Chapel, now the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, was built 1671-72 by the order of the canon Johann Jacob Brunetti to a design by Carlo Rossi. The stucco decoration was the work of Domenico Antonio Rossi. The chapel contains epitaphs or its founder and his brother, auxiliary bishop Johann Brunetti. It is located at the fourth bay of the south aisle. * The Chapel of the Resurrection, formerly the Mortuary Chapel, was built in 1749 through a donation of Dean Johann Christoph von Rummerskirch to a possible design by Bartholomäus Wittwer. The screen was the work of Felix Anton Scheffler: the stucco work and paintings by Raphael Joseph Albert Schall and Theodor Hammacher. It is located in the second bay of the north aisle. * The Chapel of St. Casimir, formerly dedicated to St. Leopold, was formerly the home of a famous triptych commissioned in 1468 by the canon Peter von Wartenberg. However, after World War II the painting was sent to the
National Museum, Warsaw The National Museum in Warsaw ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie), popularly abbreviated as MNW, is a national museum in Warsaw, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in the capital. It comprises a rich collection of ancient art ( Eg ...
.


Bells


Burials

* Prince-Bishop Przecław of Pogorzela, 1376 * Duke
Henry VIII of Legnica Henry VIII of Legnica ( pl, Henryk VIII legnicki) (ca. 1355 – 12 December 1398) was a Duke of Legnica beginning in 1364 (nominally and together with his brothers) and Bishop of Włocławek from 1389 until his death. He was the fourth son of ...
, 1398 * Duke and Bishop Konrad IV the Older, 1447 * Prince-Bishop Johann IV Roth, 1506 * Prince-Bishop
Johann V Thurzo Jan V Thurzo ( hu, Thurzó V. János; pl, Jan V Turzo; 1464–1520) was a 15th-century Bishop of Diocese of Wroclaw, Wroclaw in Silesia, now Poland. A great patron and lover of the arts and sciences, Martin Luther called him "the greatest bis ...
, 1520 * Maria Kazimiera Sobieska, granddaughter of Polish King John III Sobieski, 1723 * Prince-Bishop
Count Palatine Francis Louis of Neuburg Francis Louis of Palatinate-Neuburg (; 18 July 1664 – 6 April 1732) was bishop and archbishop of several dioceses, prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, and of the Teutonic Order. Life He was born in Neuburg an der Donau as son of Phili ...
, 1732 * Protonotary apostolic Karol Milik, 1951 * Archbishop Bolesław Kominek, 1974 * Bishop Wincenty Urban, 1983 * Archbishop
Adolf Bertram Adolf Bertram (14 March 1859 – 6 July 1945) was archbishop of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Early life Adolf Bertram was born in Hildesheim, Royal Prussian Province of Hanover (now Lower Saxony), ...
, 1991


Gallery

File:St. John Cathedral Church in Wrocław 18th cent.jpg, Eastern side of St. John Cathedral in Wrocław, 18th century File:Catedral de San Juan, Breslavia, Polonia, 2017-12-20, DD 13.jpg, Main portal File:Wrocław, Ostrów Tumski statua Matki Boskiej z Dzieciątkiem(1).jpg, Statue of Madonna and Child at the Wroclaw Cathedral Square File:2354 Jedna z rzeźb zdobiących wejście do katedry fot B. Maliszewska.jpg, Architectural details at the entrance to the cathedral File:Wrocław, archikatedra, figura św. Jana Chrzciciela.jpg, Architectural detail - statues of Saint John the Baptist File:Archikatedra św. Jana Chrzciciela we Wrocławiu DSCF5098.jpg, Rear view File:Kościół Jana Chrzciciela we Wrocławiu-01.JPG, Cathedral towers File:Archikatedra św. Jana Chrzciciela we Wrocławiu (3643867760).jpg, The dome of Corpus Christi Chapel File:Breslauer Dom Interieur fd (13).JPG, Baroque interior of the cathedral File:Katedra jana chrzciciela widok w kier bramy.jpg, View towards the entrance File:Katedra jana chrzciciela kaplica sw elzbiety.jpg, St. Elizabeth's Chapel File:Wrocław, archikatedra św. Jana Chrzciciela, obraz Madonny Sobieskich.jpg, Mater Adoramus (Matka Boża Adorująca) File:Wroclaw - Katedra Jana Chrzciciela, wnętrze.jpg, An aisle inside the cathedral File:Witraż św. Jana Kantego w archikatedrze św. Jana Chrzciciela we Wrocławiu.jpg, A
stained glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
depicting Saint
John Cantius John Cantius ( la, Joannes Cantius; pl, Jan z Kęt or ; 23 June 1390 – 24 December 1473) was a Polish priest, scholastic philosopher, physicist and theologian. Biography John Cantius was born in Kęty, a small town near Oświęcim, Polan ...
File:Wrocław, archikatedra pw. św. Jana Chrzciciela - fragment witraża bł. Bronisławy.jpg, Stained glass blessed Bronislava File:Wrocław, archikatedra św. Jana Chrzciciela, witraż bł. Wincentego Kadłubka.jpg, Stained glass blessed
Wincenty Kadłubek Wincenty Kadłubek ( 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of Kraków from 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ensure ...
File:Katedra p.w. św. Jana Chrzciciela, wieczorem.jpg, View of the cathedral in the evening File:Katedra św. Jana Chrzciciela nocą nr3 e83.jpg, View of the cathedral at night


See also

* Wrocław archdiocese * Church of St Mary on the Sand


References

* Baedeker, Karl, ''Northern Germany'', 14th edition, Leipzig, & London, 1904, p. 190.


External links


Archdiocese website

Seen though Google Maps

''Sightseeing in Wrocław''

"Katedra Wrocławska" - Spherical Panoramas


na portalu polska-org.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Wroclaw Cathedral Roman Catholic cathedrals in Poland Churches in Wrocław Basilica churches in Poland Gothic architecture in Poland Burial sites of the House of Sobieski Burial sites of the Piast dynasty Roman Catholic churches completed in 1951