St. John's Archcathedral, Warsaw

Pre-war picture of St. John's Cathedral; note the distinctive English Gothic façade

St. John's Cathedral after the post-war reconstruction

St. John's Cathedral with enormous (over 80m) Sobieski Tower in the beginning of the 18th century.

St. John's Cathedral (Polish: Katedra św. Jana) is one of two cathedrals in the city of Warsaw, capital of Poland immediately adjacent to the Jesuits' Church, and one of the oldest churches of that city. Located in Warsaw's Old Town it is one of the Polish national mausolea and the main church of the arch-diocese of Warsaw.

History

Originally built in 14th century as a Brick Gothic church, it served as a coronation and burial site for numerous Dukes of Masovia. Rebuilt several times, most notably in 19th century, it was preserved until World War II as an example of English Gothic Revival. Levelled by the Germans during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, it was rebuilt after the war. It is notable that the reconstruction of the exterior was based on assumptions on how the 14th century church have looked like (according to a Hogenberg's illustration from the beginning of the 17th century and a drawing by Abraham Boot from 1627) and not on how it actually looked before the war.

The church is connected with the Royal Castle with a special corridor (80 m long) so-called porch, established by King/Queen Anna Jagiellon in the end of the 16th century and extended in 1620s after failed assassination attempt on king Sigismund III by Michał Piekarski in front of the cathedral in 1620.

Interior

Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Stanisław by Palma il Giovane in 1930s.

The profuse Early Baroque decoration inside from the beginning of the 17th century and magnificent painting in the main altar by Palma il Giovane depicting Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Stanisław were destroyed in German bombing of the church on August 17, 1944. The remainings of the church were blew up by the Germans in November 1944. Only one wall that somehow managed to survive, was all that was left of the six hundred year old edifice. This devastation of a Polish national monument was a part of the Planned destruction of Warsaw, which had officially begun after the collapse of the Warsaw Uprising.

The painting of the Virgin and Child.. was created in 1618 for King Sigismund III Vasa especially to place in the central altar of the St. John's Cathedral. As a masterpiece it was confiscated on Napoleon's order and transported to Paris. Retrieved by Warsaw authorities in 1820s after the Congress of Vienna. It survived many wars and bombing of Warsaw since it was created, but did not preserved the last one during the WWII.

The interior reconstruction design considerably differed from the pre-war Cathedral, taking it back in time to its raw Gothic look, because very little has been preserved of the original furnishings of the cathedral.

Buried

In the crypts below the main aisle there are graves of several notable people, among them:

• Dukes of Masovia:
  • Stanisław
  • Janusz III
• composers and musicians of the Royal Cappella Vasa, eg. Asprillo Pacelli, whose magnificent black marble epitaph with composer's bust was reconstructed after the war
• the last of Polish monarchs Stanisław August Poniatowski, who was also crowned in the cathedral
• statesman Stanisław Małachowski, whose beautiful white marble tomb monument was designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen
• painter Marcello Bacciarelli
• writer Henryk Sienkiewicz
• presidents of Poland:
  • Gabriel Narutowicz
  • Ignacy Mościcki
• premier and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski
• freedom fighter Kazimierz Sosnkowski
• primates:
  • August Hlond
  • Stefan Wyszyński

See also

• Royal coronations in St. John's Cathedral
• Polish Crown Jewels
• Royal Castle
• Warsaw Old Town
• Field Cathedral of the Polish Army
• Gniezno Cathedral
• Wawel Cathedral

External links

• Template:Pl icon sztuka.net Pictures of the church.
• Template:Pl icon Miasta i ziemie dawnej Rzeczypospolitej View of Warsaw by Frans Hogenberg, 1617.
• Template:Pl icon Historia Bazyliki Archikatedralnej w Warszawie
• Template:Pl icon www.warszawa1939.pl In the prewar Warsaw.
• Template:Pl icon Archidiecezja Warszawska Some newest pictures.

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