Białystok Cathedral
The Cathedral of Białystok , also Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption ( Polish: Bazylika archikatedralna Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny ), is a Roman Catholic church in the Polish city of Białystok . It is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Białystok with the title of a minor basilica . The three-aisled basilica is 90 meters long and can accommodate 9,500 people. The two towers reach a height of 72.5 meters.
history
The predecessor of today's cathedral was a Renaissance church from the years 1617 to 1626. By the end of the 19th century the number of parishioners had grown to 12,000 souls, while the old church only offered space for 1,000 people. Due to the Russification policy of the area by Tsarist Russia , Catholics were not allowed to build a new church. However, the extension of the old parish church was approved. In 1900, next to the old church, construction of a neo-Gothic church, designed by Józef Pius Dziekoński , began. On September 17, 1905, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Vilnius .
During the Second World War, the rectory and the church office were occupied by the two occupying powers of Poland. When the Wehrmacht withdrew from the Eastern Front in 1944, the churches in Białystok were saved from the planned destruction. In contrast to the completely burned down city, the church buildings did not suffer any major damage.
Since Vilnius became part of Lithuania again after the war as the capital , Białystok was separated from the diocese of Vilnius by the demarcation. Pope Pius XII appointed an apostolic administrator for the diocese part around Białystok. In 1985 Pope John Paul II elevated the church to a minor basilica. With the establishment of the diocese of Białystok in the Polish part of the old diocese of Vilnius, he raised the church to a cathedral in 1991 and an archbishop's cathedral in 1992. The church was restored in 1996-2004.
Web links
- Cathedral website (Polish)
Individual evidence
- ^ Bazylika Archikatedralna Wniebowzięcia NMP on gcatholic.org
Coordinates: 53 ° 7 ′ 57 " N , 23 ° 9 ′ 45.7" E