It is located in the centre of the region’s capital, particularly famous for its age-old history and artistic craftsmanship
The immense building is located on the St. Virgin Mary’s Square on the Castle Hill in Kielce.
Firstly, it had been a small Romanesque collegiate church of the St. Virgin Mary’s Assumption, erected in 1171 by the Cracow bishop Gedeon (Gedko). It was built on a hill where the old city of Kielce had been located (280 above the sea level). The building was modelled on a fortress with two watchtowers and is entirely made of dressed stone. A collegiate chapter and a parish (moved from the St. Adalbert’s Church) were established together with the temple. The collegiate was erected in the place of its present central nave. Due to several rebuilding processes (1514-1522): adding of a vestry, a chapter-house, and a chancel, the building lost its initial form. Later on, bishop Myszkowski extended the structure to the west, while bishop Jan Albrecht, the son of king Zygmunt III (Sigismund III Vasa), ornamented its entrance with a marble portal. The collegiate church was again rebuilt in the early 17th C. and then, after 1719, when the towers were pulled down and instead a chapel was added. These changes gave it an early-Baroque character of a three-aisle basilica, based on a rectangular plan. The sanctuary was consecrated in 1728 by the Cracow bishop Konstanty Szaniawski. Between 1807 and 1818 it became a cathedral. It was renovated in the late 19th C. In 1883 it regained the status of a cathedral church. In 1914, after a restoration and another renovation, the church was again consecrated by bishop Augustyn Łosiński. In 1970, on its 800th anniversary, it has been uplifted to the rank of a minor basilica, which has been commemorated with a memorial board, placed on its western wall. The most recent part of the building is now plastered. After WWII its roof has been covered with copperplate.
A Gothic triptych, depicting the coronation of the Virgin Mary and the figures of St. Stanislaus and St. Adalbert (a polychromy from 1898), a galenic relief of the Virgin Mary, and a baroque main altar designed by Fontana – these are the unique symbols characterising the collegiate. Inside one can find a picture of the Kielce Generous Virgin Mary with a Child. The tourists are also allowed to see the cathedral’s treasure-house and the underground tombs of the bishops.
All roads (from the centre of Kielce) lead to the cathedral
Firstly, it had been a small Romanesque collegiate church of the St. Virgin Mary’s Assumption, erected in 1171 by the Cracow bishop Gedeon (Gedko). It was built on a hill where the old city of Kielce had been located (280 above the sea level). The building was modelled on a fortress with two watchtowers and is entirely made of dressed stone. A collegiate chapter and a parish (moved from the St. Adalbert’s Church) were established together with the temple. The collegiate was erected in the place of its present central nave. Due to several rebuilding processes (1514-1522): adding of a vestry, a chapter-house, and a chancel, the building lost its initial form. Later on, bishop Myszkowski extended the structure to the west, while bishop Jan Albrecht, the son of king Zygmunt III (Sigismund III Vasa), ornamented its entrance with a marble portal. The collegiate church was again rebuilt in the early 17th C. and then, after 1719, when the towers were pulled down and instead a chapel was added. These changes gave it an early-Baroque character of a three-aisle basilica, based on a rectangular plan. The sanctuary was consecrated in 1728 by the Cracow bishop Konstanty Szaniawski. Between 1807 and 1818 it became a cathedral. It was renovated in the late 19th C. In 1883 it regained the status of a cathedral church. In 1914, after a restoration and another renovation, the church was again consecrated by bishop Augustyn Łosiński. In 1970, on its 800th anniversary, it has been uplifted to the rank of a minor basilica, which has been commemorated with a memorial board, placed on its western wall. The most recent part of the building is now plastered. After WWII its roof has been covered with copperplate.
A Gothic triptych, depicting the coronation of the Virgin Mary and the figures of St. Stanislaus and St. Adalbert (a polychromy from 1898), a galenic relief of the Virgin Mary, and a baroque main altar designed by Fontana – these are the unique symbols characterising the collegiate. Inside one can find a picture of the Kielce Generous Virgin Mary with a Child. The tourists are also allowed to see the cathedral’s treasure-house and the underground tombs of the bishops.
All roads (from the centre of Kielce) lead to the cathedral
The Cathedral Basilica in Kielce
The inside of the sanctuary
