Location: Swietojanska 8
Tel. 022- 831 02 89
Bus: E- 1, E- 3, 116, 122, 175, 195, 495, 503
Open: daily (Sun: pm only)
Saint John's Cathedral is a medieval parish church that was erected in the 15th century. It is situated just 5 minutes walking distance from the Royal Castle. It was an important Christian temple where historic events were held. This includes the coronation of Stanislaw August Poniatowski in 1764 and oath of allegiance to the Constitution on 3 may in 1791. Addtionally it serves as burial grounds for distinguished Poles. This includes Gabriel Narutowicz, first president of the Polish Republic, Cardinal Stefan Wysznski and many others. Saint John's Cathedral acquired status of a cathedral after 1794. During World War II it was badly damaged by falling German bombs. After the war church's facade was reconstructed under supervision of Polish architect Jan Zachwatowicz. Baryczkowski Crucifix that is situated on the left side of the altar as you enter this church was carved in the 16th century. Some Polish Catholics believe that it has miraculous powers. Thus it is common to see pilgrims that flock here. Crucifix of Saint John Cathedral also contains real human hair. Many legends surround its origins. It is most likely must have come from a devoted Christian that donated his or her hair to this statue. Another distinguished feature of Saint John's Cathedral is a beautiful marble Malackowski Family Tomb. It was designed by the Danish Neo- Classical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.
The temple was erected on the street, not as in other Polish cities
located at that time in the corner of the market square. This location
is explained by its dual role - the parish church for the city and the
chapel for the castle.
The first temple in the place of today's
presbytery was a wooden castle chapel built at the turn of the 13th and
14th centuries. This chapel in the early In the 14th century it became
the parish church of the city (the parish was erected in 1313 or 1315).
A cemetery was established in the square behind the church (now Kanonia
Street). From 1321 there is a mention of Gunter, a rector (parish
priest) in Warsaw, and in 1338 a lawsuit against the Teutonic Order was
nailed on the door of the temple. During the Warsaw trial in 1339, there
was a court in the temple and in the mayor's house on the Old Town
Square.
Around 1390, on the initiative of Duke Janusz I the
Elder, a Gothic brick building was erected. The church also became the
burial place of the Dukes of Mazovia.
In 1406 the parish church
became a collegiate church (the chapter, on the order of Janusz I the
Elder, came from Czersk).
In 1428, Anna Holszańska founded there
the first chapel dedicated to the Assumption of the Mother of God. In
1510, the collegiate church received a new gothic altar (preserved to
this day in Cegłów). In the fall of 1602, as a result of a hurricane,
the massive gothic west tower collapsed, partially destroying the
interior of the temple. During the reconstruction, the façade of the
church was changed, building a new, early baroque one. Two choirs were
also built in the presbytery. After 1611, the collegiate church received
a new baroque altar.
In 1637 the first coronation took place in
the temple - Cecilia Renata.
Around 1650, a tall belfry was built
on the right side of the façade. After 1763, the sacristy was built
according to the design of Jakub Fontana. In 1798, after the dignity of
the bishop of Warsaw was established, the collegiate received the title
of the cathedral by the bull of Pius VI. In 1818 it became a cathedral.
In the years 1837–1842, the temple, which was in a poor technical
condition, was thoroughly rebuilt with government funds in the English
neo-Gothic style according to the design of Adam Idźkowski. Was
established, among others a new façade with a central tower section,
plastered, with rich stone decorations. In the years 1901–1903, another
renovation of the façade according to a design by Hugo Kudera took
place.
During the martial law period in the Kingdom of Poland, on
October 15, 1861, the Russian troops led by the military
general-governor of Warsaw, Aleksander Daniłowicz Gerstenzweig, pacified
the civilian population gathered here to commemorate the death
anniversary of Tadeusz Kościuszko. As a result, the Catholic Church
announced the closure of all Warsaw churches on October 16.
Until
the nineteenth century, the church was an example of Gothic. In the
years 1836–1840, the temple was rebuilt according to the design of Adam
Idźkowski in the English Gothic style.
The temple was damaged
during the defense of Warsaw in September 1939 and almost completely
destroyed by the Germans in 1944. The best-preserved fragment of the
ruined cathedral was the Baryczków chapel and the chancel.
It was
reconstructed in the years 1948–1956, modeled on the plans of the
original church from the 14th century, according to the reconstruction
project by Jan Zachwatowicz and Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka. The
façade of the rebuilt temple was based on a watercolor by Zygmunt Vogel
from the beginning of the 19th century showing the Gothic façade of the
cathedral exposed to plaster. It was built in the so-called gothic style
on the Vistula and was also modeled on the facade of the Dominican
Church of St. ap. Peter and Paul in Chełmno and the church of St.
Stanislaus, St. Dorothy and St. Wenceslas in Wrocław. Until 1952, the
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Józef the
Bridegroom (seminar).
The rebuilt cathedral was officially
consecrated on June 9, 1960 by Primate Stefan Wyszyński.
In 1960
the church was given the title of minor basilica. Since 1994, it has
been the venue for the International Organ Music Festival "Cathedral
Organ".
In the years 2012–2015, the cathedral underwent extensive
renovation works, including brick elevations and its interior with
chapels were renovated, and portals, sculptures, epitaphs and organs
were restored. In the basement, after breaking through the passages
between some of the crypts, a special educational route with multimedia
elements was created.
Interior
The basilica has a raw and dark interior with a stellar
vault. In the presbytery there is the main altar with a painting of Our
Lady of Częstochowa and the votive offering of Jan III Sobieski for the
victory at Vienna, baroque stalls with wooden figures of saints (burned
during the Warsaw Uprising, reconstructed on the basis of a design by
Maria Zachwatowicz and Józef Zencikiewicz in 1963-1973) and hanging
above them are porches for the orchestra decorated with carved coats of
arms. The following deserve attention:
renaissance tombstone of the
last two Dukes of Mazovia, Stanisław and Janusz III. The tombstone of
Chęciny red marble was most probably made by Bernardinus de Gianottis in
the years 1526–1528. It was the first Renaissance tombstone in Mazovia.
The Baroque chapel of the Miraculous Lord Jesus (Baryczków) was erected
in 1708–1719 on the site of the former church treasury for a Gothic
crucifix with natural hair, worshiped by the inhabitants, from the
beginning of the 16th century. According to various sources, it was
brought to Warsaw from Wrocław in 1520 or Nuremberg in 1539 by Jerzy
Baryczka. The crucifix was saved from destruction during the Warsaw
Uprising.
A plate from the Renaissance tombstone of Stanisław
Strzelica, a canon and parish priest (reconstruction)
A plate for the
tombstone of the brothers: the bishop of Kuyavia, Mikołaj Wolski, and
the castellan of Sandomierz, Stanisław Wolski (the architectural housing
was destroyed in 1944)
the epitaph of the burgrave of Kraków Adam
Parzniewski from 1614
epitaph of the royal secretary and horse,
Wojciech Baryczka from 1643
Baroque Literary Chapel with the relics
of the Metropolitan of Warsaw, Saint Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński
classicist statue of Stanisław Małachowski, carved from white marble,
designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and made by Cavaliere Massimiliano in
Rome (assembled from pieces after 1944)
Mausoleum of Primate Stefan
Wyszyński from 1990
monuments, busts and plaques in honor of famous
Poles, incl. fragment of the monuments of Zygmunt Kazanowski, Aleksander
Kakowski, Józef Piłsudski, Roman Dmowski, Wincenty Witos, Stefan
Starzyński, John Paul II, the Eaglets of Lwów and soldiers killed in
1920, 1939 and 1944.
Stained glass in the presbytery windows with
scenes from the life of St. John of Jerusalem (Baptist), stained glass
in the windows of the southern aisle with figures from the history of
Poland and in the windows of the western wall with scenes from the book
of Genesis and the book of the Apocalypse of St. John. The stained glass
windows were designed and made by Wacław Taranczewski.
Buried in
the cathedral
king Stanisław August Poniatowski
the Duke of
Mazovia, Janusz I the Elder
Stanisław, the Duke of Mazovia
Duke of
Mazovia Janusz III
Izabella Wazówna, daughter of Władysław IV Waza
President Gabriel Narutowicz
President Ignacy Mościcki
Prime
Minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski
commander-in-chief, General Kazimierz
Sosnkowski
Archbishops of Warsaw
Szczepan Hołowczyc, Primate
of the Kingdom of Poland
Wojciech Skarszewski, Primate of the Kingdom
of Poland
Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski
st. Zygmunt Szczęsny
Feliński
Wincenty Teofil Popiel
card. August Hlond, Primate of
Poland
bl. card. Stefan Wyszyński, the primate of Poland
card.
Józef Glemp, the primate of Poland
Bishop Stanisław Jan Witwicki
the royal court marshal Adam Kazanowski
the writer Henryk Sienkiewicz
painter Marcello Bacciarelli and his wife Frederick
Adam Parzniewski,
marshal of the court of Anna Wazówna
Remigian Zaleski, the castellan
of Łęczyca
Royal vows in the cathedral
September 12, 1637 -
Władysław IV Vasa and Cecylia Renata
March 10, 1646 - Władysław IV
Vasa and Louis Maria Gonzaga
May 30, 1649 - Jan Kazimierz and Ludwika
Maria Gonzaga
July 5, 1665 - Jan III Sobieski and Maria Kazimiera
d'Arquien
Coronations in the cathedral
September 13, 1637 -
Cecylia Renata (wife of Władysław IV Vasa)
October 19, 1670 -
Eleonora Habsburg (wife of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki)
October 4,
1705 - Stanisław Leszczyński and Katarzyna Opalińska
November 25,
1764 - Stanisław August Poniatowski
Here, on May 24, 1829, a solemn
mass was held after the coronation of Nicholas I Romanov as the Polish
king. The act of coronation itself took place in the Senator's Hall at
the Royal Castle.
Popes in the cathedral
On October 28, 1919,
the episcopal consecration ceremony by Achille Ratti, later Pope Pius XI
(1922–1939), was held here. He was ordained by Cardinal Aleksander
Kakowski, Metropolitan of Warsaw. Nuncio Ratti more than once
participated or celebrated Masses himself. in this temple.
The Warsaw
cathedral was visited five times by Pope John Paul II (1979, 1983, 1987,
1991, 1999) during his pontificate and many times before, when he was a
bishop and archbishop.
On May 25, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI visited the
cathedral, there was a meeting with the clergy of the Archdiocese of
Warsaw. Benedict XVI as Joseph Ratzinger was also present in this place
in 1981, during the funeral of the Metropolitan of Warsaw, Primate
Stefan Wyszyński.
Other information
A memorial from the Warsaw Uprising is embedded
in the southern wall of the cathedral: a fragment of a caterpillar with
a commemorative plaque with the erroneous inscription "The caterpillar
of a German tank - mine" Goliath ", which destroyed part of the
cathedral walls during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. In fact, the track
fragment there was definitely not a Goliath mine, but probably a heavier
Borgward IV vehicle. The explosion of one of such vehicles on the nearby
Kilińskiego Street led to the deaths of several hundred insurgents and
civilians on August 13, 1944.
The model for the triangular gothic
pinnacle of the cathedral was the church of St. Dorota in Wrocław.
From around 1951 to around 1971, the cathedral's roof was covered with
red monastery tiles, which, despite the protests of prof. Zachwatowicz,
exchanged for a copper roof.
In the duke's crypt, in the basement,
there is a 14th-century Gothic mensa of the main altar of the temple,
found during restoration works.