Gniezno Cathedral

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (September 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Primatial Basilica Metropolitan Cathedral of Gniezno
52°32′14″N 17°35′49″E / 52.537121°N 17.596858°E / 52.537121; 17.596858
Location	Gniezno
Country	Poland
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Architecture
Style	Gothic
Completed	c. 11th century
Specifications
Length	85 metres
Width	22 metres
Height	64 metres
Materials	Brick
Administration
District	Old Town
Province	Archdiocese of Gniezno
Historic Monument of Poland
Designated	1994-09-08
Reference no.	M.P. z 1994 r. Nr 50, poz. 416[1]

The Royal Gniezno Cathedral (The Primatial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Shrine of St. Adalbert, Polish: Bazylika Archikatedralna Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Marii Panny i Sanktuarium św. Wojciecha) is a Brick Gothic cathedral located in the historic city of Gniezno that served as the coronation place for several Polish monarchs and as the seat of Polish church officials continuously for nearly 1000 years. Throughout its long and tragic history, the building stayed mostly intact, making it one of the oldest and most precious sacral monuments in Poland.^[2]

The cathedral is known for its twelfth-century (ca. 1175), two-winged bronze doors decorated with scenes of martyrdom of St. Adalbert of Prague and a silver relic coffin of that saint. The coffin was made by Peter von der Rennen of pure silver in 1662 after the previous one, established in 1623 by King Sigismund III Vasa himself, was robbed by the Swedes in 1655, during the Swedish invasion.^[3][4]

The temple is one of Poland's national Historical Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated on September 16, 1994, and tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.