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

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

is one of the oldest churches in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and the oldest Polish

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, dating from the 10th century. It is the oldest historical monument in

. 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 Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...

. 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 ( ) refers to the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity in Poland. The impetus to the process was the Baptism of Poland ( ), the personal baptism of Mieszko I, the first ruler of the future Polish st ...

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 Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

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 The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

. 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 (, 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 Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

reaction and the raid of the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

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

Bretislav I Bretislav I (; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death in 1055. Youth Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubine Božena. ...

(1034–1038). The cathedral was rebuilt in the

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

, remains of which are visible in the southern tower. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the church was rebuilt in the

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

. At that time, a crown of

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

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 Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

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 (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

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

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. The last of the great fires occurred on 15 February 1945, during the Battle of Posen and its capture by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, assisted by Polish volunteers. 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 (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

gave the church the title of

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

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 *1239 - Ladislaus Odonic *1257 - Przemysł I *1279 - Boleslaus the Pious *1296 -

Przemysł II Przemysł II ( also given in English and Latin language, Latin as ''Premyslas'' or ''Premislaus'' or in Polish as '; 14 October 1257 – 8 February 1296) was the Duke of Poznań from 1257–1279, of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, of Kraków fr ...

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, 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

References

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 (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Tourist attractions in Poznań

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

History

Notable interments

Gallery

See also

References

External links