Oliwa Cathedral

The Oliwa Cathedral (Polish: Kościół pod wezwaniem Trójcy Świętej, Najświętszej Maryi Panny i Świętego Bernarda ) ( Church of the Holy Trinity, Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Bernard ) is located in the district of Gdańsk Oliva.

The Cathedral

The cathedral is a three-aisled basilica with a transept and a polygonal choir with ambulatory.

The facade is flanked by two slender towers, each 46 meters high, with pointed roofs baroque helmet. The entrance leads through a baroque portal from the year 1688. The crossing carries a bell tower ( roof lights ), which is typical of Cistercian churches.

The total length is 107 meters ( dimension) and 97.6 meters (inside dimensions ). It is the longest Cistercian church building in the world.

The history

The Cistercian monks built in 1186, with the consent of the princes of Pomerania a monastery "ad montem Olivarum ". The first Romanesque church was burnt down by the Prussians in 1224, rebuilt by the monks and expanded, and 1234 (or 1236 ) again burned by the Prussians. 1350 raided the monastery and the church again to the flames. In the second half of the 14th century a Gothic church was built in its present form.

1831, the Cistercian Order of the Prussian authorities was liquidated and the Oliva Monastery closed. The church and a part of the monastery of the Catholic church have been allocated.

1925, Pope Pius XI. a Gdansk diocese. The church was to Oliva thus became a cathedral and Oliva became the capital of the diocese and bishop's seat.

The interior

Inside, there are 23 mostly high and late Baroque altars. The old high altar ( 1605), in the style of the Dutch Renaissance was in 1699 replaced by a Baroque altar that is considered a masterpiece of Baroque Pomeranian. 1615 created Abraham van den Block ( 1572-1628 ), the tomb of the dumpling family with four life-sized, kneeling before a crucifix small figures made ​​of white and black marble.

The paintings are works of Herman Han (1574-1628), Adolf Boy (1612-1680), Andreas Holly (1635-1697) and Andreas Schlüter ( 1660-1714 ). The chapels are dedicated to St. John Nepomuk and the Holy Cross.

The Oliva Domorgeln

In the Duomo are two organs: the large organ above the entrance and the small organ at the southern end of the transept. The great organ is the work of the Cistercian monk Johann Wilhelm Wulff ( 1763-1788 ). The organ case is a significant work of baroque carving. While playing the organ the figures of the angels move with trumpets and bells. The small organ is the work of Johann Georg Wulff from the year 1680. Both organs were repeatedly rebuilt and expanded by: