St. John's Cathedral (Warsaw)
| St. John's Cathedral | |
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 View from ul. Świętojańska |
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| Construction year: | 1313 |
| Inauguration: | 1321 |
| Style elements : | Gothic |
| Client: | Catholic Church |
| Location: | 52 ° 14 '55 " N , 21 ° 0' 49" E |
| Address: | Ul. Świętojańska 8 Warsaw Poland |
| Purpose: | Roman Catholic Cathedral |
| Diocese : | Warsaw |
The St. John's Cathedral , also called St. John's Cathedral ( Polish: Archikatedra św. Jana Chrzciciela ), in the old town of the Polish capital Warsaw has been the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Warsaw since 1798 and is also the oldest church in Warsaw. The building itself, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist , is located south of the Old Town Market and is a new Gothic building from 1948 to 1956.
history
As early as the end of the 13th century, a wooden church was built on the site of today's cathedral, which in 1339 became the parish church of Warsaw. It also became important as the burial place of the Dukes of Mazovia . Therefore Duke Janusz had the wooden church replaced by a Gothic stone building in 1390. A little later it became a collegiate church in 1406 . Several renovations and expansions followed, including a new baroque facade, while the Gothic cube of a hall church was largely retained.
Inside was by Johann III. Sobieski donated a choir stalls after his victory in the Battle of the Kahlenberg , which is now a reconstruction . One of the oldest pieces of equipment is a crucifix from the beginning of the 16th century, which is placed in the baroque Baryczków Chapel. A black marble baptismal font from 1631 also dates from the Baroque period. Bertel Thorvaldsen also designed the classical grave of the Małachowski family. In addition to numerous coronation and wedding ceremonies of the Polish kings, the oath of allegiance to the new Polish constitution took place in the church on May 3, 1791 . It was not until 1798 that it became the seat of a bishop as a cathedral and in 1818 the diocese of Warsaw was elevated to an archbishopric.
The cathedral underwent its most significant renovation in the second half of the 19th century. According to a design by Adam Idźkowski, the church was completely changed in the English neo-Gothic style. The facade in particular was modified with lavish ornaments such as pegs and statues. The historical character was lost through this reconstruction. It was finally destroyed in World War II . First it burned down during the Warsaw Uprising , then in 1944 the facade was blown up by the retreating German soldiers. As with the entire street of Ulica Świętojańska and the adjoining Jesuit church, nothing more than the foundation walls of this church remained, and the rear part of the church was badly damaged. Only the older bell tower to the south was partially preserved.
Since there was hardly anything left of the old church, the reconstruction could take place without following the neo-Gothic appearance. Under the direction of the architect Jan Zachwatowicz , the fundamental reconstruction began in 1947 and was completed in 1954. From the old church only the ground plan, the position of the front windows and the height of the roof approach were taken over, the whole building was redesigned in imitation of the Mazovian Gothic. In place of the old ornate facade, there was a stepped brick gable , the individual fields of which were plastered white. To commemorate the destruction, a caterpillar of the remote-controlled Goliath was built into the side facade , which was used in 1944 to destroy the old town. The rest of the exterior was also made of brick. The simple bronze gate with its relief was created by Stanisław Marzyński and Andrzej Jabłoński. A stone frieze by Kazimierz Knothe was used to decorate the outer walls. The interior was also redesigned, so that although the old Gothic star vaults were imitated, the walls were mostly plastered white next to smaller brick elements. The former lavish furnishings and the many citizen epitaphs from the Renaissance and Baroque could not be completely restored. The stained glass windows that were inserted into the new Gothic windows with simplified tracery were made by Zbigniew Łoskot and Wacław Taranczewski. In 1960 the cathedral church was elevated to a minor basilica .
Coronations
The following coronations were performed in St. John's Cathedral:
- Cecylia Renata , Wladyslaw IV Wasa's wife on September 13, 1637
- Eleonore von Habsburg , wife of Michael Wiśniowiecki on October 19, 1670
- Stanislaus I. Leszczyński and Katharina Opalińska on October 4, 1704
- Stanislaus II August 25th, 1764
Burials
In addition to the tombs of the Warsaw bishops (including Stefan Wyszyński and Józef Glemp ) and the Dukes of Mazovia, the church also houses the graves of numerous important Polish personalities. The last Polish King Stanislaus II August , whose remains were brought from Grodno , the Nobel Prize winner Henryk Sienkiewicz , the composer and politician Ignacy Jan Paderewski and the two first Polish Presidents Gabriel Narutowicz and Ignacy Mościcki rest in its crypt .
organ
The cathedral organ has 60 stops on three manual works and a pedal .
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Individual evidence
Web links
- Warsaw - St. John's Cathedral at www.polish-online.com , Barbara Anna Woyno