The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wrocław (
Polish: Archikatedra św. Jana Chrzciciela,
German: Breslauer Dom, Kathedrale St. Johannes des Täufers) is the seat of the
Archdiocese of Wrocław and a landmark of the city of
Wrocław in
Poland. The
cathedral, located in the
Cathedral Island, is a
Gothic church with
Neo-Gothic additions. The current standing cathedral is the fourth church to have been built on the site.
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 about 25 m (82 ft) in length, including a distinctive
transept and an
apse. After the Polish conquest of
Silesia and the founding of the Wrocław diocese under the
Piast duke
Bolesław I Chrobry in 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 on the behest of Bishop
Walter of Malonne in 1158.
After the end of the
first Mongol invasion of Poland, 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 and
ambulatory started in 1244. The nave with
sacristy and the basements of the prominent western steeples were added under Bishop
Nanker until 1341.
On 19 June 1540 a fire destroyed the roof, which was restored 16 years later in
Renaissance style. 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 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 in the last days of
World War II.
Parts of the interior fittings were saved and are now on display at the
National Museum in
Warsaw. The initial reconstruction of the church lasted until 1951, when it was reconsecrated by Archbishop
Stefan Wyszyński. In the following years, additional aspects were rebuilt and renovated. The original, conical shape of the towers was restored only in 1991.
The current cathedral is a three-nave Gothic
orientedbasilica 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. The chapel was dedicated to St.
Elizabeth of Hungary, 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, 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 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.
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.