Cathedral of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in Wrocław

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God on ulica św. Mikołaja, within the District of Four Denominations, is a Gothic church that today serves as the main Orthodox cathedral of the Diocese of Wrocław-Szczecin. The building is listed in the heritage register as a brick structure dated to 1430-1440.

From cemetery chapel to filial church

A 13th-century cemetery chapel had previously stood on this site, which burned down before 1400. The actual church was built at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries as a filial church of the parish of St Elizabeth, in the Gothic style, as a three-nave brick building 32.7 metres long and 24.6 metres wide. Two towers, square at their base, rise on the western side, though only the southern one reached its planned height.

War damage and handover to the Orthodox Church

During the Second World War the church lost about 70 per cent of its fabric. It was rebuilt between 1959 and 1961, and in June 1963 it was handed over to the Orthodox Church. Today the cathedral is the main church of the Diocese of Wrocław-Szczecin of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the seat of the parish of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God.

Frescoes and two iconostases

The interior is decorated with frescoes made under the direction of Jerzy Nowosielski. The church has two iconostases: the main one, contemporary, wooden and carved, made in 2019 in Thessaloniki, and a side one, which came from the Orthodox church of St Nicholas in Sosnowiec, demolished in 1938.

Practical information

• Address: ulica św. Mikołaja, District of Four Denominations, Stare Miasto, Wrocław.
• Getting there: the building lies in the very centre of the city, not far from the Market Square and the National Forum of Music.
• What to expect: a Gothic structure with two towers and an interior with frescoes and two iconostases, one of them brought from Thessaloniki.
• It is worth combining the visit with a walk to the Wrocław Town Hall and the Market Square, calling in at the National Forum of Music on the way.