The St. James the Apostle Archcathedral Basilica (; ) is a Gothic cathedral located in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

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 ...

and seat of the Archdiocese of Szczecin-Kamień. Built in the 12th-14th centuries, it is the second tallest church in Poland, the largest church in the region of

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (; ), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania, located mostly in north-eastern Germany, with a small portion in no ...

, and one of the most distinctive landmarks of the Szczecin Old Town.

History

The church was established in 1187 and the Romanesque-style building was completed in the 14th century. The church was built by the citizens of the city and modeled after the Church of St. Mary in

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

. In ca. 1220 Pomeranian Duke Bogislaw II was buried in the cathedral. One of its two towers collapsed during a storm in 1456 and destroyed part of the church. Reconstruction lasted until 1503 and the entire church was remodelled based on a single-tower

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

design. After the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, it was part of the Pomeranian Evangelical Church. The church was destroyed again in 1677 during the

Scanian War The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...

and rebuilt between 1690 and 1693 in the

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 ...

style. In 1893, the church was remodelled again however, the west tower collapsed during a storm in 1894 and had to be rebuilt. This renovation was completed in 1901 leaving the church with a spire of 119 metres (390 feet). Air raids on the night of 16 August 1944 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

resulted in collapse of the spire added in 1901 and extensive damage to other parts of the building. The north wall, all altars and artworks inside were destroyed by the bombs and ensuing fire. Following the war, government officials were reluctant to allow reconstruction of the church however, a heritage conservator pointed out that demolition of the remaining structure would be more costly than rebuilding it. In 1971, work began on the church and continued for three years. The north wall was reconstructed in a modern style which did not harmonize with the rest of the building and the tower was stabilized, but the spire was not rebuilt. Instead, the tower was capped with a short

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

or pyramid roof resulting in a height of 60 metres (196 feet). After World War II, it became once again a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church. In 2006, another renovation commenced which included new heating systems and flooring. Organs, to replace those removed before the World War II bombing and never recovered, were constructed and the tower was strengthened so it could support a redesigned spire. In 2010, a new, neo-baroque Flèche has been constructed. Today, the church serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Szczecin-Kamień.

Gallery

Image:Ruiny kosciola sw. Jakuba.JPG, Cathedral ruins after World War II Image:Szczecin katedra sw Jakuba (1).jpg, Church of St. James in Szczecin (2013) Image:Szczecin-katedra remont wieży.jpg, The church in January 2008, during the final stages of tower reconstruction, when the spire was added Image:0910 Bazylika archikatedralna św Jakuba Szczecin 3.jpg, Clock Image:Szczecin Cathedral (2501590974).jpg, View from Old Town

References

External links

Archdiocese of Szczecin-Kamień website

Sacred Restorations: Polish Cathedrals Built Anew
{{Commons category, Szczecin Cathedral Roman Catholic cathedrals in Poland Brick Gothic Basilica churches in Poland Buildings and structures in Szczecin 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Poland Churches in West Pomeranian Voivodeship Gothic architecture in Poland Old Town, Szczecin Burial sites of the House of Pomerania Rebuilt buildings and structures in Poland Rebuilt churches in Poland Former Lutheran churches