St. Mary's Church in Katowice () is one of the oldest

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

es in

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

, Poland, dating back to 19th century. This

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

church is located in the Śródmieście district. The architectural design was entrusted to Alexis Langer, a renowned architect from Breslau (

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

). Although the original plans envisioned a much grander scale, the final neo-Gothic building spans 43 meters in length and 31 meters in width. Its most distinctive feature is the 71-meter octagonal tower, a signature trademark of Langer's craftsmanship.

History

The plans for establishing the Katowice parish date back to the mid-19th century, during the industrialization of Upper Silesia, leading to rapid population growth in the region. In 1858, the Catholics of Katowice began discussions about relocating a wooden church from Biskupice to Katowice (which was then a village). Meanwhile, a

timber framing Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

church was erected, later dismantled. The decision to build a larger church was made by the then-Bishop of Wrocław, Heinrich Förster, who, during a visit to the canon in

Racibórz Racibórz (, , , ) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being the residence of the Duchy of Racibórz, Du ...

in the spring of 1861, appointed Alexis Langer as the architect. The

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

for the construction of the church was consecrated in 1862. Initially, the concept of the church was quite monumental. Bishop Förster, recognizing the rapid population growth driven by the development of Silesian mining, instructed the architect to design a massive, three-aisled

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

and provided significant financial support for the project. However, the grandiose plan proved too costly for the still relatively small parish, prompting changes to the architectural design. The main alteration was the reduction of the side aisles to a series of chapels placed between buttresses. Ultimately, a four-bay, single-aisled church with a row of side chapels and passages pierced between the buttresses was constructed, giving the impression of aisles. In the 1970s, the church lost some of its original furnishings, including the main

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

and

altar rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and ot ...

. In 2001, the stained glass windows underwent thorough conservation.

Gallery

File:Katowice St Mary church at night N 2021.jpg, Northern facade (2021) File:Katowice St Mary church apse at night NE 2021.jpg, Apsis (2021) File:Katowice Mary church south.jpg, View from the south (2019) File:Katowice - Kościół NMP - Gargulec 01.jpg, Gargoyle on the tower (2008) File:Katowice - Kościół NMP 2.JPG, Mosaic above the main entrance (2006) File:Katowice St Mary church interior 2021.jpg, Interior (2021) File:Katowice St Mary church matroneum 2 2021.jpg, Organ gallery (2021) File:Katowice Immaculate Conception church triptych.jpg, Gothic triptych File:Józef Unierzyski Descent from the Cross.jpg, Painting with a motif of the Crucifixion by J. Unierzyski File:Kaplica Golgota Ojczyzny.jpg, Chapel near the church (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Church, Katowice

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

Gothic Revival church buildings in Poland 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Poland The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland