Wrocław Cathedral

Wrocław Cathedral tickets: which one to buy

Wrocław Cathedral, the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, stands on Ostrów Tumski, the Cathedral Island, the oldest part of Wrocław, Poland, and entry to the cathedral is free outside services, while the tower's viewing platform, reached by a lift, is ticketed. The tower gives views over the Oder river, the island and the old town. Ostrów Tumski is one of the most atmospheric places in Wrocław, with its churches, cobbled streets and gas lamps, which are lit by hand every evening by a lamplighter.

Walking tours of Wrocław combine the cathedral with the Market Square, the Town Hall, the University and the search for the city's bronze dwarfs. The Tumski Bridge, covered with love padlocks, connects the island with the Sand Island. The cathedral is active, and visiting pauses during masses. Trams stop at the Katedra stop on the edge of the island, a few minutes from the cathedral.

Visiting Wrocław Cathedral: what to see

A church was built on this site in the tenth century, and the present cathedral was built mainly between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries in the Gothic style, the first brick Gothic church in Poland. It has two tall towers with spires, rebuilt after the Second World War, when about seventy percent of the cathedral was destroyed during the siege of Breslau in 1945. The cathedral was rebuilt in the following decades, and the spires were completed in 1991. Inside, the cathedral has a Gothic presbytery and several baroque chapels, including the Chapel of Saint Elizabeth, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and the Elector's Chapel, designed by the Viennese architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, with rich marble and frescoes.

The cathedral holds a large organ, one of the largest in Poland, and a Gothic altarpiece. The cathedral's tower lift was installed in the twenty-first century. The cathedral's main altar holds a gilded silver Gothic altarpiece from the sixteenth century. The Chapel of Saint Elizabeth, built in the seventeenth century, holds the tomb of Cardinal Friedrich of Hesse. The Elector's Chapel, built for Bishop Franz Ludwig of Neuburg, has frescoes by Carlo Carlone. The cathedral's portal is decorated with carved figures of saints and animals. The stained glass windows date from the twentieth century. The cathedral's crypt holds the tombs of bishops. The towers are about ninety-eight metres high. The Archdiocesan Museum, nearby, displays treasures from the cathedral.

Wrocław Cathedral opening hours and the best time to go

The cathedral is open daily, with visits restricted during masses. The lamplighter lights the gas lamps on Ostrów Tumski about an hour before sunset, which is a lovely time to visit. Wrocław is busy in summer and during the Christmas market, one of the largest in Poland, in the Market Square. Winter is cold, but the island is atmospheric. The tower is best visited on clear days. Allow about half an hour for the cathedral and tower, and walk around the island and across the Tumski Bridge. The Botanical Garden of the University of Wrocław, beside Ostrów Tumski, has greenhouses and a garden of alpine plants.