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St. John's Cathedral, Wrocław / Shutterstock
St. John The Baptist Catholic Cathedral
It is undoubtedly Wroclaw's most precious monument of sacred architecture. It is over 1000 years old. Before the present Gothic church was erected in the 13th century, there had been three other churches in its place. The oldest one was built between 983 and 988 and resembled a Czech church in Libice, which was proved by historians. The next church was built of fieldstone bonded with clay in 1000 when Emperor Otto III and Pope Silvestre II established a diocese in Wroclaw. Such honour was a proof of the city's great importance which was growing to become a crucial centre of politics, economy and culture in the region. What is preserved from the third Romanesque basilica built from blocks of crystallized limestone are the elements of its portal, specifically - fragments of St. John The Baptist's figure which are exhibited in the Diocese Museum. Though the proverb goes "third time lucky", it was the fourth building which eventually turned out to last for over 750 years. It was in 1244 when the construction works were started in Gothic style, the first Gothic building in Wroclaw. Its architecture partly derives from Cistercian tradition. It took a long time to accomplish the task due to numerous problems, among them Bishop Thomas I's being kidnapped by Prince Boleslav Rogatka. World War II, mainly the Soviet bombing in spring 1945 was merciless to the Cathedral. "The liberators" destroyed completely the vaults of the nave and partly the vaults of the aisles. The reconstruction has lasted since 1945 until now. Two Baroque chapels adjoining the Cathedral are worth mentioning: St. Elisabeth's and Electors'. The first one was founded by Cardinal Fredericof Darmstadt, landgraveof Hesse who believed himself to be St. Elisabeth of Thuringia's descendent. The other one was founded by Archbishop Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg, prince-elector and archbishop of Trier, Empress Eleonor's brother and was designed by an eminent Austrian Baroque architect, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach.