Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul (Legnica)

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North side of the cathedral

The Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul (also Upper Church , Polish Katedra Świętych Apostołów Piotra i Pawła ) is a Roman Catholic church building in the Lower Silesian city of Legnica (German Liegnitz). Since 1992 the church has served as the cathedral of the newly founded Diocese of Legnica .

history

Engraving from 1852 of Goldbergschen Strasse with the single-tower facade of the Church of St. Peter and Paul
View from the ring to the northwest facade and the two church towers

A first church building on the same site, dedicated to the apostle Peter , was mentioned in 1208. Between 1328 and 1378 the church was rebuilt under master builder Wiland based on the model of the Elisabeth Church in Breslau . The church was consecrated on September 20, 1342 under Bishop Waclaw and received St. Paul as a second patron.

Between 1370 and 1378 the church was expanded further. The builder Konrad from Krakow was in charge . The Gothic main portal on the north-west side of the church dates from this period. Between 1378 and 1390 the interior of the church was designed by Klaus Parlirer, with the window frames in the Gothic style. By the 15th century, 15 chapels were built along the side aisle.

After Duke Friedrich II introduced the Reformation in his Duchy of Liegnitz in 1522/23 , the church served as a Protestant church.

After a fire in 1835, the church was rebuilt based on designs by Karl Friedrich Schinkel . The restoration or conversion of the church from 1892 to 1894 based on a design by Johannes Otzen led to fundamental changes, especially for the exterior. The main façade, which remained unfinished, was supplemented by a south tower with a neo-Gothic spire, and the entire building was significantly changed in its historical substance by facing with new bricks and new building sculptures. In contrast, the valuable interior of the three-aisled hall church was preserved.

After the transition to Poland in 1945, it was given to the Catholics. A figure of Mary in the main portal that was removed at the end of the 19th century was reassembled after the re-Catholicization and the figure of Martin Luther that was inserted here was removed. His quote from the 19th century “Here I stand. I can't help it. God help me. Amen. Worms 1521 ”was preserved and is now apparently placed in Maria's mouth. On March 25, 1992, the church was elevated to a cathedral under Pope John Paul II and has since served as the main church of the Legnica diocese .

Architecture and equipment

View of the chancel
Gothic main portal

The St. Peter and Paul Cathedral is a three-aisled house of worship. There are cross vaults in the side aisles of the church . The vault of the presbytery is ribbed.

There is a rose window between the two church towers . It is located in the oldest part of the church.

The north-western main portal dates from around 1370. A statue of the Madonna and Child, which was made around 1340, was placed on the portal. The portal is a masterpiece of stone carving and the main entrance to the temple.

Numerous tombstones and epitaphs from the Middle Ages have been preserved inside the church.

The Liegnitz council stalls from 1568, Caspar Berger's pulpit from 1586 to 1588 and numerous epitaphs date from the Renaissance. Baroque is next to the main altar with the painting of the Ascension of Christ the case of the organ (1722–1725), a work by Ignatius Mentzel, which contains an instrument from the company Schlag & Söhne from 1894.

literature

  • Kurt Anders: Liegnitz - as we knew it. Gerda Weber Verlag, Lorch / Württ. 1979.

Web links

Commons : Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul (Legnica)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Meyer's New Lexicon. Volume 5, Bibliographical Institute, Leipzig 1964, p. 325.
  2. Peter & Paul Cathedral - Liegnitz.info
  3. PWCO - Organ Cathedral St. Peter and Paul ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.organy.art.pl

Coordinates: 51 ° 12 ′ 25.2 ″  N , 16 ° 9 ′ 42 ″  E