Gniezno Cathedral

Primatial Basilica
Metropolitan Cathedral of Gniezno
Map
52°32′14″N 17°35′49″E / 52.537121°N 17.596858°E / 52.537121; 17.596858
LocationGniezno
CountryPoland
DenominationRoman Catholic
Architecture
StyleGothic
Completedc. 11th century
Specifications
Length85 metres
Width22 metres
Height64 metres
MaterialsBrick
Administration
DistrictOld Town
ProvinceArchdiocese of Gniezno
Designated1994-09-08
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.

  1. ^ Zarządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 8 września 1994 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii., M.P., 1994, vol. 50, No. 416
  2. ^ http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WMP19940500416. Archived 2014-01-07 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ valuable, priceless, lost Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Gniezno Cathedral in Gniezno – Attractions | Frommer's". app.frommers.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-13.