The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption () is a Gothic

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

located in

Pelplin Pelplin () is a town in northern Poland, in the Tczew County, Pomeranian Voivodship. Population: 8,320 (2009). Pelplin is located in the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in Pomerania. It is home to one of the finest collections of medieval art ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, one of the country's largest medieval churches. A former church of the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

Pelplin Abbey, it is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pelplin The Diocese of Pelplin (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese located in the city of Pelplin, Poland. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of metropolitan Archdiocese of Gdańsk. The biggest city of dioc ...

. It is listed as a Historic Monument of Poland.

History

The Pelplin Abbey was founded in 1258 by

Sambor II, Duke of Pomerania Sambor II of Tczew (; c. 1211/1212 – December 1277 or 1278) was a duke of Pomerania and prince of Lubiszewo Tczewskie. Sambor was a son of Mestwin I, Duke of Pomerania, and member of the Samborides. He was married to Matilda, daughter of ...

, as "Samboria", and was a daughter house of the Cistercian

Doberan Abbey Doberan Abbey (''Kloster Doberan'') is a former Cistercian monastery in Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The Brick Gothic church continues in use as Doberan Minster (''Doberaner Münster''). After the conversion to Christianity o ...

. It was first located in Pogódki near

Kościerzyna Kościerzyna (; Pomeranian language, Pomeranian and ; former ) is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with 23,327 inhabitants as of June 2023. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomeranian Voivodeship si ...

and re-located in 1276 to Pelplin. Following the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

, by decree of the

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

government of 5 March 1823 the abbey was dissolved. Since 1824 the church has been the cathedral of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełmno The Diocese of Chełmno (; ) was a Catholic diocese in Chełmno Land, founded in 1243 and disbanded in 1992.

, and after its dissolution in 1992, it became the seat of the

Main building

Work on the

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (, , ) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Baltic region, Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resources of standing rock (though Glacial erratic, ...

building (length 80 m, height 26 m) began in 1289. The church was finished in 1323; additional work was completed in 1557. Currently, it is one of the largest church buildings in Poland. The cathedral is known as an impressive early example of Brick Gothic architecture. In Pelpin, the architecture has also been influenced by

tradition.

Gallery

File:Pelplin - Katedra widok 001GP.jpg, View of the Cathedral from the south-east File:Pelplin (7).JPG, Cathedral at night File:2010.10.02 PELPLIN (21).jpg, Main altar File:20100701 Pelpin, cathedral, 7.jpg, Main nave File:Pelplin Katedra 005.jpg, A Gothic

portal Portal may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), a series of video games developed by Valve ** ''Portal'' (video game), a 2007 video game, the first in the series ** '' Portal 2'', the 2011 sequel ** '' Portal Stori ...

File:Pelplin Katedra 009.jpg, An altar with painting by Herman Hann File:Pelplin ambona 0473.jpg, A

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

pulpit File:Pelplin Katedra 051.jpg, Late-Gothic choir stalls File:Pelplin Katedra 069.jpg, Paintings in the interior of the cathedral File:Pelplin Cathedral window 135.jpg, Gothic

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window File:Pelplin - Katedra wnętrze 016GP.jpg, Pipe organs File:Pelplin wirydarz 1.jpg, A corridor inside the abbey

References

Bibliography

*Antoni, Michael, 1993: ''Dehio-Handbuch der Kunstdenkmäler, West- und Ostpreußen'', pp. 469–473 (with plan). Munich and Berlin:

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...

. * Binding, Günther, Untermann, Matthias, 2001: ''Kleine Kunstgeschichte der mittelalterlichen Ordensbaukunst in Deutschland'', 3rd edn., p. 222 (with plan). Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft Darmstadt. No ISBN *Dehio, Georg, 1922: ''Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Zweiter Band Nordostdeutschland'', 2nd edn., pp 362 ff. (edited by Julius Kohte). Berlin: Ernst Wasmuth A.G. *Faryna-Paszkiewicz, Hanna; Omilanowska, Małgorzata; Pasieczny, Robert, 2001: ''Atlas zabytków architektury w Polsce'', p. 44. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. *Pasierb, Janusz, 1993: ''Der Pelpliner Dom'', Pelplin Diözesanverlag. No ISBN *Schneider, Ambrosius, 1986: ''Lexikale Übersicht der Männerklöster der Cistercienser im deutschen Sprach- und Kulturraum'', in: Schneider, Ambrosius; Wienand, Adam; Bickel, Wolfgang; Coester, Ernst (eds.): ''Die Cistercienser, Geschichte – Geist – Kunst'', 3rd edn., p. 683. Cologne: Wienand Verlag.

External links

*
Photos and history of Pelplin Cathedral
Cistercian monasteries in Poland 1258 establishments in Europe Basilica churches in Poland Tczew County

Gothic architecture in Poland

13th-century establishments in Poland {{Poland-RC-cathedral-stub