Gniezno Cathedral
| Gniezno Cathedral | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Gniezno, Poland |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| District | Old Town |
| Province | Archdiocese of Gniezno |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural style | Gothic |
| Completed | c. 11th century |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 85 metres |
| Width | 22 metres |
| Height (max) | 64 metres |
| Materials | Brick |
The Royal Gniezno Cathedral (The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Adalbert, Polish: Bazylika Archikatedralna Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Marii Panny i św. Wojciecha) is a Brick Gothic cathedral located in the historical 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.
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.
The temple is one of Poland's national Historical Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated on September 16th, 1994 and tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.
The religious temple dates back to the end of the ninth century, when an oratory was built in the shape of a rectangular nave. At the end of the tenth century Duke Mieszko I of Poland built a new temple on a cruciform plan and remodeled the existing nave oratory. In the year 977 Duchess Dąbrówka, the wife of Mieszko I, was buried here. Before the arrival of St. Adalbert of Prague in Gniezno, Prince Bolesław I the Brave, later the first king of Poland, rebuilt the temple according to the plan of a rectangle, elevating it later to the rank of a Cathedral. In the year 999 the funeral of St. Adalbert took place and later also his canonization by Pope Sylvester II.
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Wikipedia