Description of the attraction
The Church of St. Katarzyna, erected, according to the assumption of some Polish historians, in 1185, is considered one of the most ancient sacral buildings in the city. In the press and in guidebooks, he is poetically called "The Mother of the Temples of Gdansk". The main part of the church with side chapels was built in the XIV-XV centuries. The imposing three-aisled structure became even more majestic when, in 1636, a 76-meter bell tower with a Renaissance dome, designed by Jakub van den Block, was erected next to it. This helmet-shaped vault is often called the "crown of Gdansk", it rises above the rest of the city's buildings, so it can serve as a good reference point. The dome is 32 meters high. The eastern facade is decorated with peaks of various shapes, which were created in the 15th century.
Throughout its history, the Church of St. Katarzyna, which is considered the heavenly patroness of the city, burned several times, with the most severe fires occurring in the 20th and 21st centuries. At the beginning of the last century, lightning struck the church tower, which caused a fire to appear. In a matter of minutes, the tower with the carillon installed on it was destroyed. In 1945, the temple, like many other buildings in Gdansk, did not survive the barbaric actions of the opposing sides who participated in World War II. The temple was restored by Carmelite monks who arrived from Krakow. Finally, in 2006, a sudden outbreak of fire destroyed the roof of the temple and part of the wall, and also damaged the bell tower. The fire was extinguished before it caused more severe damage. An old wooden altar was damaged as a result of the fire.
Despite such sad events, there are several valuable items in the church that are worth seeing. This is the tombstone of the astronomer Jan Hevelius, who is considered the first cartographer of the lunar surface, the altar created by Shimon Gerle and decorated with paintings by Anton Meller and Isaac van den Block, the Renaissance font and some other artifacts.
