The Archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

is one of the oldest churches 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 ...

and the oldest Polish

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 denominations ...

, dating from the 10th century. It stands on the island of Ostrów Tumski north-east of the city centre.

History

The cathedral was originally built in the second half of the 10th century within the fortified settlement ''( gród)'' of Poznań, which stood on what is now called Ostrów Tumski. This was one of the main political centers in the early Polish state, and included a ducal palace (excavated by archaeologists since 1999, beneath the Church of the Virgin Mary which stands in front of the cathedral). The palace included a chapel, perhaps built for Dobrawa, the Christian wife of Poland's first historical ruler,

Mieszko I Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and ...

. Mieszko himself was baptised in 966, possibly at Poznań – this is regarded as a key event in the

Christianization of Poland The Christianization of Poland ( pl, chrystianizacja Polski) refers to the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity in Poland. The impetus to the process was the Baptism of Poland ( pl, chrzest Polski), the personal baptism of Mieszk ...

and consolidation of the state. The cathedral was built around this time; it was raised to the status of a cathedral in 968 when the first missionary bishop, Bishop Jordan, came to Poland.

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

became the patron of the church because, as the first cathedral in the country, it had the right to have the same patron as St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The pre-Romanesque church which was built at that time was about 48 meters in length. Remains of this building are still visible in the basements of today's basilica. The first church survived for about seventy years, until the period of the

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...

reaction and the raid of the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

Bretislav I (1034–1038). The cathedral was rebuilt in the Romanesque style, remains of which are visible in the southern tower. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the church was rebuilt in the

Gothic style 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 ...

. At that time, a crown of

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

s was added. A fire in 1622 did such serious damage that the cathedral needed a complete renovation, which was carried out in the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

style. Another major fire broke out in 1772 and the church was rebuilt in the Neo-Classical style. In 1821,

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

raised the cathedral to the status of a ''Metropolitan Archcathedral'' and added the second patron -

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. The last of the great fires occurred on 15 February 1945, during the liberation of the city from the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. The damage was serious enough that the conservators decided to return to the Gothic style, using as a base medieval relics revealed by the fire. The cathedral was reopened on 29 June 1956. In 1962,

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...

gave the church the title of

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

Notable interments

The cathedral is the place of burial of the following rulers: * 992 -

*1025 - Boleslaus the Brave *1034 - Mieszko II *1058 -

Casimir the Restorer Casimir I the Restorer (; 25 July 1016 – 28 November 1058), a member of the Piast dynasty, was the duke of Poland from 1040 until his death. Casimir was the son of Mieszko II Lambert and Richeza of Lotharingia. He is known as the Restorer becaus ...

*1239 - Ladislaus Odonic *1257 - Przemysł I *1279 - Bolesław Pobożny *1296 - Przemysł II

Gallery

File:Poznań Katedra Alberti.jpg, The pre-1945 façade (illustration from 1798) File:Katedra od południa Poznań RB1.JPG, View of the eastern side File:Bazylika archikatedralna Świętych Apostołów Piotra i Pawła w Poznaniu05.jpg, Interior File:Grobowiec Mieszka I i Bolesława I Chrobrego.jpg, Tomb of Mieszko the First and Bolesław Chrobry File:Mieczysław I Kruszy Bałwany RB.JPG, Mieczysław I by January Suchodolski File:Złota Kaplica Kopuła RB1.JPG, Dome of the Golden Chapel File:Złota Kaplica Poznań RB1.JPG, Monument of Mieszko I and Bolesław Chrobry, by

Christian Daniel Rauch Christian Daniel Rauch (2 January 1777 – 3 December 1857) was a German sculptor. He founded the Berlin school of sculpture, and was the foremost German sculptor of the 19th century. Life Rauch was born at Arolsen in the Principality of ...

, founded by Edward Raczyński File:6 Poznan 137.jpg, Altar File:Katedra w Poznaniu Łukasz I Górka RB1.JPG, Tomb plate from Visher's workshop of voivod Łukasz I Górka File:Płyta Vicherowska Poznań RB1.JPG, Tomb plate from Visher's workshop of canon Bernard Lubrański File:Krzysztof Boguszewski Wjazd św Marcina do Amiens RB1.JPG, ''Entry of St. Martin to Amiens'' File:Niebieskie Jeruzalem Krzysztof Boguszewski RB1.JPG, ''Heavenly Jerusalem'' File:Katedra Poznan Plan.svg, Plan of the cathedral

External links

Official cathedral website

Sacred Restorations: Polish Cathedrals Built Anew
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archcathedral Basilica Of St. Peter And St. Paul, Poznan Peter and Paul Roman Catholic cathedrals in Poland Gothic architecture in Poland

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 denominations ...

Tourist attractions in Poznań Peter

History

Notable interments

Gallery

See also

External links