Poznan Cathedral

The Poznań Cathedral, located on the site now known as Ostrów Tumski, was originally built in the latter half of the 10th century as part of the fortified settlement of Poznań. This settlement was one of the primary political centers in the early Polish state and included a ducal palace, which was located beneath the Church of the Virgin Mary in front of the cathedral. The palace had its own chapel, which is believed to have been built for Dobrawa, the Christian wife of Poland's first ruler, Mieszko I. Mieszko himself was baptized in 966, potentially in Poznań, and this event is considered a significant milestone in the Christianization of Poland and the consolidation of the state. The cathedral was built around this time, and in 968, it was elevated to the status of a cathedral with the arrival of the first missionary bishop, Bishop Jordan.

Saint Peter was chosen as the patron saint of the cathedral as it was the first cathedral in the country and had the right to share the same patron as St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The original pre-Romanesque cathedral was approximately 48 meters in length and remnants of it can still be seen in the basement of the present basilica. The first cathedral stood for about 70 years until it was destroyed during the pagan reaction and raid of Bohemian Duke Bretislav I (1034-1038). The cathedral was then rebuilt in the Romanesque style, and traces of this can be seen in the southern tower.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the cathedral underwent renovation in the Gothic style and a crown of chapels was added. A fire in 1622 caused extensive damage, requiring the cathedral to be fully renovated in the Baroque style. Another significant fire in 1772 led to the cathedral being rebuilt in the Neo-Classical style. In 1821, Pope Pius VII elevated the cathedral to the status of a Metropolitan Archcathedral and added Saint Paul as the second patron. The last major fire occurred on February 15, 1945, during the liberation of the city from the Germans, causing enough damage that the conservators decided to restore the cathedral to its original Gothic style using medieval relics revealed by the fire. The cathedral was reopened on June 29, 1956, and in 1962, Pope John XXIII gave the cathedral the title of minor basilica.