The Church of Sts. Dorothea, Wenceslaus, and Stanislaus (, ) is a Gothic

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in the southern part of

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 ...

's Old Town. Along with the Old Town of Wrocław, it is designated a Historic Monument of Poland.

History

The church was founded to commemorate the signing of a treaty between

Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...

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

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (; ; ; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was H ...

. The patrons of the church, Sts.

Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia Wenceslaus I ( ; 907 – 28 September 935), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Prince (''Knyaz, kníže'') of Duchy of Bohemia, Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his you ...

, Stanislaus, and Dorothea represented

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 ...

, and

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

: the coat of arms of the three realms were placed under the windows on the outside of the apse. The church was built under the supervision of the Augustinian hermits on a plot of land purchased by the burghers Job Stille and Jakob Reymfried. The church was built in 1351 as a three-nave, high hall with a pentagonal chancel and apse covered with a cross vault. The chancel was completed in 1381, and the apse and nave in 1401. In 1350 the church was taken over by the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

order expelled from the Church of St. Vincent. However, the number of brothers continued to dwindle rapidly due to the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

and already by 20 October 1534 they had left the building. It was not until October 15, 1561, that Emperor Ferdinand I allowed the deconsecration of the building and their temporary use for storage. Subsequent plains to bring in the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

were unsuccessful, and in 1613 Emperor

Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. Notable people Notable people named Matthias include the following: Religion * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Isca ...

returned the building to the Franciscan Order, who took over the buildings on February 6, 1615. In 1686, the interior was rebuilt in an ornate Baroque style, as was the monastery building. In 1707 the church was made a parish church. After the

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

annexation of the city, and subsequent secularization of the order of 1810, the monastery buildings were used as a jail from 1817, and then after 1852 were used by the court. The former monastery entered a long decay, until the end of the 19th century it was decided to demolish then and the land was sold. On the site of the monastery was built a department store and the Hotel Monopol. In front of the western façade of a church was built a new entrance with a Gothic portal and a small square. During the

Siege of Breslau The siege of Breslau, also known as the battle of Breslau, was a three-month-long siege of the city of Wrocław, Breslau in Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), lasting to the end of World War II in Europe. From 13 Fe ...

at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the church sustained only minor damage, and as a result it was one of the best preserved medieval buildings in Wrocław. After the war, it was for a time used as the city's procathedral.

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of St. Dorothea (Wroclaw) Churches in Wrocław Gothic architecture in Wrocław Roman Catholic churches in Poland