Wroclaw Cathedral

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View from Katedralna Street to the cathedral

The Wroclaw Cathedral , the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (Polish Archikatedra św. Jana Chrzciciela ) of the Archdiocese of Wroclaw , was built in the years from 1244 to 1341 in the Gothic style. It is one of the landmarks of Wroclaw . Its two towers are the tallest church towers in the city at almost 98 meters and shape the streetscape, as in Brno , Prague and Vienna .

history

Wroclaw Cathedral at night with the Madonna statue
View of the cathedral island

Remains of the walls of the previous churches are located under the cathedral . It is believed that before the construction of the first Christian church there was a pagan cult site in the form of a fountain on the site of the cathedral .

Bohemian Church

Earlier researchers of the church assumed after late medieval mentions that the first cathedral church in Wroclaw was built of wood in the year 1000. The on-site excavations carried out by Marcin Bukowski after the Second World War have shown, however, that natural stone walls were used when the first cathedral was built. In addition, the most recent excavations (1996–1997, Edmund Małachowicz et al.) Discovered an even older church, which in Polish literature is called the Bohemian Church (or Czech Church ). This brick church was built in the middle of the 10th century when Silesia was still under the rule of the Bohemian Přemyslids . The remains of the church foundations were found at the point where the apse and the wider easternmost yoke of the main nave meet today .

According to the reconstruction of Małachowicz, this oldest church in Wroclaw consisted of a nave with a strong transept and an apse in the eastern part, so that the floor plan was probably a Latin cross . The walls were built from field stone using lime mortar . The total length of the church was max. 25 m. The church has some analogies with the Bohemian architecture of its time.

1. Cathedral of the Brave

After the year 1000, when the Wroclaw diocese was founded, the Bohemian Church was replaced by a much larger cathedral. It was a three - aisled pre - Romanesque basilica. In the eastern part there were two towers and a vaulted crypt on four pillars. The Polish Duke Bolesław the Brave , who established the diocese, is considered to be the founder of this first cathedral . The cathedral was 33.5 m long. The excavated details (e.g. a base of a dazzling column ) attest to the presence of an architectural structure. The large cross-section of the wooden beam excavated near today's cathedral, which is believed to be part of the roof structure, was dated to the year 1004. The first cathedral was burned down during the Czech invasion of 1038-1039 under Břetislav I or the so-called Heidenrückfall and probably then dismantled by the population.

2. Cathedral of the Renovator

In the 50s and 60s of the 11th century , a new cathedral church was built on the old site as a foundation of the Polish Duke Casimir I , known as Renewer. The direction of the main axis, which used to be north-east, was corrected for the new building. The new orientation has been retained through subsequent buildings or up to the present day. The 2nd cathedral was an early Romanesque three-aisled basilica made of quarry stone with a short transept, a single-nave choir and an apse. Among the latter was a three-aisled, vaulted crypt. There were probably no towers and the ships were covered with a wooden ceiling. Only a few details from the 2nd cathedral have survived to this day, as several parts were reused in the construction of the 3rd cathedral.

3. Cathedral of Bishop Walter

The 2nd cathedral was a relatively simple church. A more magnificent cathedral in the Romanesque style was built from 1158 by Bishop Walter von Malonne . Parts of the outer wall of the previous building were included in the new construction, but reinforced from the outside. A mention of Walter as the builder of the first brick cathedral in a medieval chronicle was exaggerated and the reason for later misinterpretations in the history of the cathedral.

The three-aisled basilica with transept and two west towers was only completed in 1180 and inaugurated by Walter's successor, Bishop Siroslaus II . The floor plan and the spatial shape of the Walter Cathedral are not only known from the excavations. The church was also represented on the surviving seal of Siroslaus II, which is considered to be the oldest depiction of the Wroclaw Cathedral. The researchers see similarities with the then cathedral of Płock , which was built under Alexander von Malonne , Walter's brother. The length of the 3rd Wroclaw Cathedral was 48.5 m and the width 24.5 m. The new facades made of white limestone were richly and contrastingly decorated with colorful sandstone . Several details from this church building have been preserved and are currently kept in the Archdiocese museum. Remains of the crypt have been preserved under today's choir.

The 3rd cathedral, similar to the other buildings on the cathedral island, survived the Mongol attack in 1241, presumably without major damage.

4. Dom

Grave of Bishop Preczlaw von Pogarell in the Wroclaw Cathedral
City map of Breslau from 1562 - the built-up cathedral island on the Oder can be seen at the top right
Wroclaw Cathedral on an illustration from the mid-18th century
View of Wroclaw in 1850, the cathedral on the right
Cathedral around 1900
View of the destroyed cathedral island and cathedral in 1945

Gothic foundation

In the following decades, the Gothic extension and the new building were completed in several stages . As a result of this, the basic structure of the 4th cathedral church and 5th church, which has existed to the present day, was created at this point.

In the years 1244–1272, the choir building of the Walter Cathedral , which had become too small for the cathedral chapter , was replaced by a much longer and higher choir with an outpatient clinic . The new choir with an orthogonal end on the east side was built under Bishop Thomas I in the cathedral Gothic style , presumably through a Cistercian hut . Two (east) towers were built over the corners of the outpatient clinic, but they remained unfinished. In the competition of cathedral builders, the technical techniques of the time often reached their limits. The new east facade facing the ramparts of the cathedral island was given a large colored glass window and a relatively large, functionless decorative window was built into the gable, which led to the roof truss. The east facade became the representative facade of the building, which now consisted of the naves of the Walter Cathedral and the new high choir. The new choir was vaulted with six-part pointed arches.

Wroclaw Bishop Nanker had a new nave built with two west towers as a replacement for the rest of the Walter Cathedral . This was completed in 1341, the nave and the resultant about the same time new sacristy in the southeast of the choir are building in the style of the reduction Gothic held. The new ships were built from the western side around the walls of the Walter Cathedral, so that this was probably only demolished in sections when the work on the new building had progressed. As a result of a measurement error , the axis of the main nave has been shifted approx. 15 cm to the south, so that the new side walls did not meet the existing choir walls and a protruding wall remains visible in the south facade to this day. In addition, the double-width easternmost yoke of the main nave should be mentioned, which was probably last built in place of the earlier Romanesque transept. Some researchers even suspect that a Gothic transept was initially planned.

The Gothic building was completed with the inauguration of the choir. In the next construction phase, however, the builder Peschel added the so-called small choir, a Marienkapelle , east of the high choir between 1354 and 1368 . The chapel was donated by Bishop Preczlaw von Pogarell as his burial place.

The next extensions were made in the course of the 15th century. This included the side chapels and the upper floors of the north-west tower with the lead-covered wooden spire . The southwest tower remained only four storeys high at that time. In 1517, Bishop Johannes V founded the new portal of the sacristy, which is considered the first example of the Renaissance in Silesia.

Renaissance and Baroque conversions

On June 19, 1540, a major fire destroyed the roof, the spire and the church bells . The rebuilding of the helmet on the northwest tower happened in 1556 in the Renaissance style. Between 1568 and 1580, the previously only four-storey south-west tower was raised to the same height, while the basic Gothic form of the north-west tower was repeated, but with a simplified design and without ornaments. The newly erected tower spire resembled the Renaissance spire of the north-west tower. Another major change is the removal of the gutter balustrade, which was severely affected by the fire, as well as the heightening of the choir wall by approx. 1 m so that its cornice height was adjusted to the nave. The choir itself was plastered and structured with stucco. Bishop Andreas von Jerin donated a silver high altar in the Renaissance style in 1590 . At that time, perhaps as early as 1540, the rood screen was removed .

In 1633 the southwest tower, the southern facade and the roof of the sacristy were damaged during the siege of Wroclaw by Swedes, Saxons and Brandenburgers . This destruction could then be removed and the tower got its helmet again. The baroque sacrament chapel was built in 1672 and the Elisabeth chapel between 1680 and 1700. a. 1716–1724 the Corpus Christi Chapel ( Elector's Chapel) and 1749 the Chapel of the Dead.

Renovations and restorations of classicism and historicism

The next major fire, which raged on June 9, 1759 on the cathedral island, destroyed the cathedral considerably. The west towers with helmet roofs and bells, the Gothic west facade, the roof of the nave, the sacristy, the small choir and the organ fell victim to the fire. The repair of the damage dragged on over the next 150 years. At first the west towers were covered with low tent roofs. The collapsed west gable was rebuilt in a simpler form based on classicism .

The largest neo-Gothic restoration of the 19th century was headed by Carl Johann Lüdecke . The interior of the high choir was regotized, as was the portal house and the west facade, although the last work was felt to be unsuccessful after a short time. The previously existing silver high altar in Jerins was replaced by a neo-Gothic construction, and some old silver parts were reused.

Further renovation and restoration work was carried out by Hugo Hartung at the beginning of the 20th century . Among other things, the natural stone section of the north-west tower, which was destroyed in 1759, was reconstructed and the previously detailed south-west tower was given an identical component for the sake of symmetry. In 1912 and 1926, the helmet roofs were built in a neo-Gothic shape, the later one on the south-west tower being designed by Joseph Ebers and greatly simplified. The planned completion of the east towers and renewed reconstruction of the west facade did not take place.

In 1907 Pope Pius X gave the church the rank of minor basilica . In 1930 the diocese of Breslau became an archbishopric, and the cathedral also became an archbishop's church. The following renovation of the interior by Günther Grundmann included u. a. the removal of the wall frescoes from the 19th century and the neo-Gothic cornice in the choir.

Destruction and rebuilding

In the last days of the Second World War , the cathedral was badly damaged by the advancing Red Army . The bomb attack on April 2, 1945 was particularly serious. According to estimates, 70% of the building structure was destroyed, including the helmet and main roofs and the vaults of the main nave and high choir. Part of the south wall fell. From the interior, the choir stalls , the organ, several paintings and the high altar were destroyed by fire. Part of the rescued facility was seized by the now Polish administration or relocated to other parts of Poland. Among other things, an altar from the Leopold Chapel is currently in the National Museum in Warsaw and two of the original four representations of the doctors in a church in Stężyca .

The preliminary reconstruction under the direction of Marcin Bukowski was completed in 1951. Part of the interior, such as the altar, had to be replaced with pieces from other churches . On July 29th of this year the cathedral was rededicated by Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński .

View of the rear of the cathedral structure

The reconstruction could only be fully completed in 1992.

Furnishing

High altar of the Bishop Jerin

In 1591, Bishop Andreas von Jerin , who was in office from 1585–1596, donated a new high altar with silver sculptures by the hand of the Wroclaw goldsmith Paul Nitsch (1548–1609) and paintings by Bartholomäus Fichtenberger (active 1561–1592) for 10,000 thalers. Before the siege of Wroclaw at the end of the Second World War, the painting wings and the silver figures were relocated, the shrine remained in the cathedral and fell victim to the bombing in 1945. In 2019 the shrine was reconstructed and initially exhibited in the Wroclaw National Museum, in December 2019 it was re-erected in the cathedral. In the shrine there is a crucifixion group, while the figures of Saints John the Baptist, Vincent, Andrew and Hedwig of Silesia appear in the niches of the inner wings. During the first change of the altar, eight scenes from the life of the Dompatron John the Baptist appear on the back of the inner wings and on the outer wings. When the outer wings are closed, the four church fathers, Gregory the Great, Hieronymus, Ambrosius and Augustine, can be seen in painted niches.

Tomb

View into the chancel

The tomb of Cardinal Adolf Bertram is located in the cathedral . He was the last German Archbishop of Silesia . Although he had already died in 1945, he could not be buried in "his" church until 1991.

Choirs

There are three chapels behind the choir :

Ceiling painting in the cathedral

More chapels

  • The Redeemer Chapel on the fourth yoke of the south aisle serves as the sacrament chapel . It was built as a baroque brick building from 1671–1672 from the foundation of Canon Johann Jacob Brunetti based on a design by Carlo Rossi . Domenico Antonio Rossi created the stucco decoration. Epitaphs for the founder and his brother, Bishop Johann Brunneti.
  • The Resurrection Chapel on the second yoke of the north aisle, which is also known as the Chapel of the Dead , was built in 1749 as a foundation by the cathedral dean Johann Christoph von Rummerskirch, presumably by the master builder Bartholomäus Wittwer. Felix Anton Scheffler created the decoration . The wall paintings and stucco work from 1851 are by Raphael Joseph Albert Schall and his brother-in-law Theodor Hamacher .

Organ system

development

View of the organ

In the cathedral is the largest part of what was once the largest organ in the world, which was originally installed in the Wroclaw Centennial Hall.

The instrument was built in 1913 by the organ building company Wilhelm Sauer (Frankfurt / Oder), which was then owned by the organ builder Paul Walcker . The organ had 200 registers (15,133 pipes) on five manuals and a pedal . 187 stops were distributed over the main organ (manuals I – III and pedal) and counter organ (fifth manual); the “counter organ” was a distant organ and had 31 stops. There was also a letterpress movement with 13 registers that could be played from the fourth manual. The pocket-shop instrument had electro-pneumatic actions . The console was equipped with 911 combination pulls, 156 push buttons between the manuals, 25 pedal steps, four swell kicks and a register roller. The organ extended over an area of ​​260 m², was 22 m wide, 15 m high and 15 m deep, and weighed a total of 51 tons. It was inaugurated in September 1913. In 1937 the organ was rebuilt and 20 stops were added. In 1946 the instrument was dismantled.

After 1946 the organ no longer received its original shape : The pipe material was divided up and placed in three (“new”) instruments. The largest part, around 85 registers, was reused in the new organ in the Wroclaw Cathedral. The system consists of the main organ on the west gallery and the choir organ . The entire organ system has 152 registers (13,207 pipes), making it the largest organ in Poland.

Main organ

The main organ is on the west gallery. The instrument has 127 registers and an effect register (glockenspiel) on five manuals and a pedal. The playing and stop actions are electro-pneumatic.

I main work C – c 4
01. Principal 16 ′
02. Dumped 16 ′
03. Principal 8th'
04th Gemshorn 8th'
05. Pointed flute 8th'
06th Viennese flute 8th'
07th Dumped 8th'
08th. Flauto Dolce 8th'
09. Quintaton 8th'
10. Salicet 8th'
11. Ged. Fifth 5 1 ⁄ 3  ′
12. Octave 4 ′
13. Gemshorn 4 ′
14th Octave flute 4 ′
15th Reed flute 4 ′
16. Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
17th Octave 2 ′
18th Pointed flute 2 ′
19th Sharp fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
20th Sedecima 1'
21st Rauschpfeife II
22nd Quint mix III – IV
23. Mixture III-IV
24. Mixture IV-V
25th Scharff III
26th Trumpet 16 ′
27. Trumpet 8th'
28. Clarino 4 ′
II Swell C – c 4
29 Quintaton 16 ′
30th Principal 8th'
31. Dulciana 8th'
32. Big flute 8th'
33. Transverse flute 8th'
34. Distance flute 8th'
35. Drone 8th'
36. Quintaton 8th'
37. Octave 4 ′
38. Octave flute 4 ′
39. Soft flute 4 ′
40. Quintaton 4 ′
41. Dolce 4 ′
42. Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
43. Super octave 2 ′
44. Forest flute 2 ′
45. Swiss pipe 1'
46. Sesquialtera II
47. Mixture III
48. Zimbel III
49. English horn 8th'
50. oboe 4 ′
Chimes 8th'
Tremulant
III Swell C – c 4
51. Night horn 16 ′
52. Principal 8th'
53. Dumped 8th'
54. Gamba 8th'
55. Vox Celestis 8th'
56. Ital. Principal 4 ′
57. Reed flute 4 ′
58. Nasad 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
59. recorder 2 ′
60. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
61. Fifth flute 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
62. Sif flute 1'
63. Mixture IV
64. Scharff IV
65. Rauschzimbel II
66. Vox Humana 8th'

IV Solo work C – c 4
67. Principal 8th'
68. Big flute 8th'
69. Size Octave 4 ′
70. Ged. Pommer 4 ′
71. Octave flute 4 ′
72. Octave 2 ′
73. Flat flute 2 ′
74. Night horn 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
75. Size Mixture IV-V
76. Trumpet 16 ′
77. Basson 8th'
78. oboe 8th'
79. Trumpet 4 ′
Tremulant
V Swell C – c 4
80. Drone 16 ′
81. Principal 8th'
82. Dumped 8th'
83. Holz gedackt 8th'
84. Quintad 8th'
85. Quintaton 8th'
86. Beat 8th'
87. Viola d'Amore 8th'
88 Principal 4 ′
89. flute 4 ′
90. recorder 4 ′
91. Reed flute 4 ′
92. Cane fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
93. Octave 2 ′
94. Super octave 2 ′
95. Third flute 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
96. Super-fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
97. Seventh 1 1 ⁄ 7  ′
98 Schwiegel 1'
99 Acuta IV
100. Trumpet 8th'
Pedal C – g 1
101. Principal 32 ′
102. Contra violon 32 ′
103. Principal 16 ′
104. double bass 16 ′
105. Violon 16 ′
106. Gemshorn 16 ′
107. Sub bass 16 ′
108. Quintbass 10 2 ⁄ 3  ′
109. Octavbass 8th'
110. Covered bass 8th'
111. Gemshorn 8th'
112. Flute bass 8th'
113. cello 8th'
114. Fifth 5 1 ⁄ 3  ′
115. Octave 4 ′
116. Gemshorn 4 ′
117. Strong flute 4 ′
118. Octave 2 ′
119. Flat flute 2 ′
120. Sesquialtera II
121. Cornet IV – V
122. Cornet v
123. Mixture IV
124. Bombard 16 ′
125. trombone 16 ′
126. Trumpet 8th'
127. Clairon 8th'
View of the main organ from the choir room
Gaming table
  • Pairing :
    • Normal coupling: II / I, III / I, IV / I, V / I, III / II, IV / II, V / II, IV / III, V / III, V / IV I / P, II / P, III / P, IV / P, V / P
    • Super octave coupling: I / I, II / I, III / I, II / II, III / II, IV / IV, V / V, P / P, IV / P
    • Sub-octave coupling: V / V
  • Playing aids : Fixed combinations (pp, p, mf, f, ff, tutti), four free combinations, crescendo roller ,

Choir organ

The choir organ has 25 registers on two manuals and a pedal. The instrument is connected to the main organ and thus has the function of a remote control . The two manual works of the choir organ can only be played from the main organ using one manual (the fifth manual).

I. Manual C-c 4
01. Night horn 16 ′
02. Principal 8th'
03. Dumped 8th'
04th Salicet 8th'
05. Octave 4 ′
06th flute 4 ′
07th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
08th. Octave 2 ′
09. Pointed flute 2 ′
10. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
11. Sif flute 1'
12. Scharff V
II. Manual C-c 4
13. Bassoon flute 16 ′
14th Principal flute 8th'
15th flute 8th'
16. Reed flute 8th'
17th recorder 4 ′
18th Cane fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
19th flute 2 ′
20th Super-fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Pedal C – g 1
21st Principal 16 ′
22nd Sub bass 16 ′
23. Octavbass 8th'
24. Octave 4 ′
25th Flautino 2 ′

Organists

(incomplete list)

  • Franz Winckler - from 1682 to 1706
  • Johann Krause
  • Joseph Friedrich
  • Joseph Gottwald (born 1754, died 1833)
  • Franz Wolf - (second organist from 1830) from 1833 to 1842
  • Moritz Brosig - from 1842 to 1870
  • Adolf Greulich - from 1870 to 1884
  • Emanuel Adler (born 1845, died 1926)
  • Günther Nierte - from 1935 to 1945
  • Władysław Oćwieja - from 1951 to 1955
  • Romuald Sroczyński - from 1955 to 1965
  • Ryniewicz - from 1965 to 1966
  • Klemens Kamiński - from 1966 to 2012
  • Maciej Maszkiewski - from 2012

See also

literature

  • Zygmunt Antkowiak: Kościoły Wrocławia. Muzeum Archidiecezjalne, Wrocław 1991, ISBN 83-900018-1-1
  • Dehio Handbook of Art Monuments in Poland Silesia . Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2005, ISBN 3-422-03109-X .
  • Izabella Gawin, Dieter Schulze, Reinhold Vetter: Silesia - German and Polish cultural traditions in a European border region. DuMont Verlag, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-7701-4418-X , pp. 107-109.
  • Jan Harasimowicz : Katedra Św. Jana Chrzciciela (…) In: Jan Harasimowicz (Ed.): Atlas architektury Wrocławia. Tom I. Budowle sacralne, Świeckie budowle publiczne. Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie, 1997, ISBN 83-7023-592-1 .
  • Konstanty Kalinowski: Baroque in Silesia. Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1990, ISBN 3-422-06047-2 , p. 95. (Cathedral, St. Elisabeth Chapel)
  • Edmund Małachowicz: Katedra Wrocławska. Dzieje i architektura. Polska Akademia Nauk , 2000, ISBN 83-910911-2-0 .
  • Edmund Małachowicz: Wrocław na wyspach. Rozwój urbanistyczny i architektoniczny. ZNiO-Wydawnictwo, 1987, ISBN 83-04-02834-4 .
  • Wroclaw Cathedral Choir
  • Waldemar Matysiak: Wroclaw Cathedral Kapellmeister from 1831–1925. Düsseldorf 1934. Dissertation from the University of Munich; Extent: III, 51 pp., 34 pp.: Note examples. ; 8 °
  • Waldemar Matysiak: The Breslau School in: Musica Sacra 1937/7, p. 148 f.

Web links

Commons : Wroclaw Cathedral  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Werner Müller / Gunther Vogel: dtv-Atlas zur Baukunst , Volume 2, 5th edition 1987, page 401
  2. ↑ Małachowicz, Katedra wrocławska , p. 171.
  3. ↑ Beata Maciejewska, Wracaj Piotrze, Wrocław czeka , gazeta.pl Wrocław, July 11, 2002 , accessed October 6, 2008
  4. ^ Website of the National Museum for the exhibition of the reconstruction in 2019
  5. ↑ More information on the Sauer organ ( memento from August 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) in the Jahrhunderthalle; see. also the largest organ in the world ( memento of March 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) of the German Broadcasting Archive
  6. ^ Wrocław - Archikatedra Św. Jana Chrzciciela ( Polish ) organy.art.pl. Archived from the original on April 16, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 24, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.organy.art.pl

Coordinates: 51 ° 6 ′ 51 ″  N , 17 ° 2 ′ 46 ″  E