Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Opole)
The Cathedral of the Holy Cross (pl. Bazylika Katedralna Podwyższenia Krzyża Świętego ) is the largest church in the city of Opole . The church was the seat of a collegiate monastery , which had parish rights in the city since the 13th century. The core of today's church was built in the 13th century. Basilica minor since 1934 , since 1972 it has been the cathedral church of the newly established diocese of Opole .
history
prehistory
According to tradition, the first wooden church was built on the present site of the cathedral as early as 1002. In 1024 the Bishop of Wrocław donated a relic of the Holy Cross to the newly built church , which he received from St. Emmerich , son of the King of Hungary, is said to have received. The clergyman Reginald was the first pastor and archpriest of this church.
At the beginning of the 13th century , Duke Casimir granted Opole city rights and provided them with a new city wall. At the same time, the Bishop of Breslau, Thomas I , founded the collegiate foundation , which by the middle of the 13th century already housed around 2,000 believers. It is believed that this happened between the years 1232 and 1239, making the Holy Cross Church a collegiate church from that moment on. The monastery was very wealthy in the Middle Ages and had numerous possessions. The collegiate church was surrounded by the canons' curia.
Construction of the first stone church
The number of believers in the church increased dramatically over the decades, necessitating the construction of a new, larger church. A new stone church was built between 1254 and 1295. During this time the Bergelkirche was used as a provisional parish church in the city. The new church was consecrated on November 16, 1295. The baptismal font, which can be found in the cathedral choir today, is still preserved from this period. The new single-nave collegiate church held 4,000 people. The first mention of a parish school, which belonged to the collegiate monastery , comes from the year 1268. The collegiate library was located above the sacristy of the church. At this time, the church shaped the cityscape, as it was centrally located between the important castles of the city ( Piast Castle and Upper Castle ).
Destruction of the first church and reconstruction
In midsummer of 1415, lightning struck the nave, which destroyed the entire church by fire. All 15 Gothic altars were destroyed and only a small part of the relic of the Holy Cross remained. Due to a lack of money, the reconstruction takes more than 100 years. In the middle of the reconstruction and expansion work, the church was again destroyed by a fire. It was not until 1520, in the time of John the Good , that the new building could finally be completed. The church was built in the late Gothic style and through the presbytery and the chapels to St. Trinity, St. Hedwig and St. Anna expanded. This church has been preserved in its essential parts to this day. Duke Johann the Good died in 1532 and was buried in the new church on request.
17th and 18th centuries
In 1615 a major fire destroyed a large part of the city of Opole, including the Church of the Holy Cross. The vault and the church tower collapsed and all the furnishings were destroyed. Only the stone grave slabs and the Holy Trinity altar, which was saved in time, remained. As early as 1620, a fire again destroyed part of the church, which was still under construction at that time. The Thirty Years War brought many years of occupation and sacking to the city of Opole. In 1634 the Swedes conquered the city and plundered it, including the collegiate church. They destroyed the grave of Duke John the Good and melted the attached armor into a cannonball. In 1647 another fire destroyed the church roof.
After stormy times and changes in the denominations in Upper Silesia , the country was re-Catholicized by the Habsburgs after the Peace of Westphalia . After the Thirty Years War, the church continued to deteriorate into ruins. However, some parts of the interior have been preserved from this period, including the gilded lattice of the St. Anne's Chapel from 1635. The church was then rebuilt in Baroque style by 1686. Between 1672 and 1680, the plague ravaged the city and took away more than half of the city's residents.
In 1702 the St. Adalbert Bell was donated. It was decorated with the coat of arms of the Empire and scenes from the life of St. Adalbert of Prague . It was also known as the Turkish bell because it always rang as soon as the Turks reached the national borders. Around 1730 the St. Anna Altar and the painting Family Tree of the Silesian Piast Dukes , which can be viewed in the Diocesan Museum today, were created. At the same time, the roof of the church was given roof tiles to prevent further fires. In 1773 the church was completely renovated. The late Baroque altar, which is still standing today, was built. The sarcophagus of John the Good was also restored and placed in the Piast Chapel.
From the 19th century until today
In 1843 the community acquired the old Dominican monastery building at today's Plac Mikołaja Kopernika and converted it into a hospital. Today this building is used by the University of Opole . In 1855 the parish of the Holy Cross counted 13,475 Catholics. In 1852 the chapel dedicated to St. Scapulars rebuilt and equipped with a magnificent altar. The baptistery and the Epiphany Chapel were demolished and the Gothic baptismal font was removed and buried in the garden. A new baptismal font was installed in St. Hedwig's Chapel in the neo-Gothic style.
In the interior there were changes in the neo-Gothic style at the end of the 19th century . Old altars and the baroque crucifixion group were replaced by neo-Gothic ones. Furthermore, an organ was installed and the church was equipped with additional altars on the pillars of the main nave. In 1897 it was decided to build two new church towers. The foundation was laid in the fall of 1898 and construction of the first tower began on May 15, 1899. The chief construction manager was Joseph Cimbollek from Opole . On October 29, 1899, the domes could already be put on. These are made of copper and have been fire-gilded. The two towers were 73 meters tall, making them the tallest in Opole. They tower over the town hall tower by ten meters.
Between 1963 and 1966 there was another major renovation of the interior of the church. The neo-Gothic side altars were removed from the main nave and a new, small, late Renaissance pulpit from Głuchołazy was installed. In 1972 the diocese of Opole was founded, with the Holy Cross Church being elevated to the rank of cathedral. In 2008, the renovation of the two church towers began, which was completed two years later.
Equipment and architecture
The cathedral is a three-aisled hall church in the Gothic style . In the east it is closed by three apses . The interior is 22 m high and the star-net vault is supported by five powerful pairs of pillars.
Duke Johann II is buried in the church. His tomb has been preserved. In the Piast Chapel there is also a late Gothic triptych from 1519. A painting from around 1700 shows the family tree of the Piasts . A font dates from the 15th century. Other notable pieces of equipment include two late Gothic church windows in the area behind the altar. On the altar in the southern apse is a Gothic Madonna from around 1480. In 1702 the church received a miraculous image known as the Madonna of Opole. The main altar from 1773 is from the late baroque period .
The late baroque altar from 1773
View of the organ
Stained glass window
Sarcophagus John the Good
The cross reliquary
The cathedral in the Opole cityscape
literature
- Adam Bujak: Poland's cathedrals. Bialy Kruk, Krakau 2007, ISBN 978-83-60292-38-9 , pp. 268-271.
- Danuta Emmerling: Opole travel guide Adan Verlag, ISBN 83-915371-6-1 , pp. 6-9
- Engelbert Mis: Hidden secrets in church towers Opole 2011 ISBN 978-83-7342-267-4
- Stefan Baldy: The Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Opole Publisher: Wydawnictwo sw.Krzyza, Oppeln 1996.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ on the history of the monastery see Franz Idzikowski: History of the city of Oppeln. Oppeln, 1863 p. 65ff.
- ↑ Stefan Baldy: The Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Opole . Wydawnictwo sw.Krzyza publishing house, Oppeln 1996.
- ↑ Engelbert Mis: Hidden secrets in church towers Opole 2011 ISBN 978-83-7342-267-4
Coordinates: 50 ° 40 ′ 13.1 ″ N , 17 ° 55 ′ 13 ″ E