Cathedral of Christ the King in Katowice

The Cathedral of Christ the King on Plebiscytowa Street is a monumental church in Katowice, crowned with a low dome and preceded by a portico with eight Corinthian columns. It is regarded as the only Roman Catholic church built in Poland in the 20th century specifically as a cathedral. In 2017 the cathedral complex was designated a Historic Monument.

How the cathedral was built

Construction lasted more than a quarter of a century, as the Katowice diocese was established in 1925 and the church was consecrated only in 1955. In the architectural competition 37 entries were submitted, and the only specific condition was the exclusion of the Gothic style. The design of the Kraków architect Zygmunt Gawlik was chosen, and the experienced Franciszek Mączyński was invited to collaborate.

Work began on 5 June 1927, but because of financial difficulties it was repeatedly halted. The foundation stone was laid on 4 September 1932, and until 1939 the construction was supported with subsidies by the Silesian Sejm. During the occupation the Germans halted the construction and set up an air-raid shelter and a Gestapo archive in the crypt. Work was resumed after the war, and around 1954, in difficult times for the Church, the originally planned tall dome was abandoned in favour of a low cupola.

Form and interior

The cathedral is 101 metres long and 64 metres high, and the dome, 28 metres in diameter, reaches 59 metres. The structure was built on a square plan of brick and reinforced concrete, and the façade is clad in dolomite from the quarries in Imielin. Stone from the Bismarck tower in Mysłowice, demolished in 1933, was used for the steps. Above the columns of the portico runs a gilded Latin inscription meaning: Glory and honour to God alone.

Inside, the octagonal part under the dome is surrounded by four chapels in the corners, and the style of decoration refers to Art Deco. The round main altar is clad in polished travertine, and above it hangs a figure of the Resurrected Christ from 1973. The stained glass from 1954-1972 was mostly designed by Stanisław Pękalski. In the chapel of St Barbara the altar was made from a block of coal, and in the chapel by the chancel there are mosaics from Murano.

Crypt, organs and bells

The crypt houses the academic church, and beside it the burial chapel of the Katowice bishops, with a modern polychrome depicting the Heavenly Jerusalem. On the choir gallery stand large organs from 1980, built by Gregor Hradetzky of Krems an der Donau: 43 stops, three manuals and about 3,700 pipes. In the chancel there is a second, smaller instrument.

At the top hang five bells cast at the Rudolf Perner foundry in Passau, of which the largest, called Jubilaeum, weighs 3,500 kilograms. The first four were blessed in 1983, the fifth in 1999.

The Upper Silesian Pantheon and the viewing terrace

In 2022 the Upper Silesian Pantheon was opened in the cathedral's undercroft, and on 16 July of that year a double viewing terrace on the roof was also opened. The pantheon's exhibitions occupy part of the undercroft and the roof space. The façade is crowned by a tympanum by Tomasz Wenklar, created in stages in 2022-2025, with about 30 sculptures, including a six-metre figure of Christ.

In 1983 the cathedral was visited by Pope John Paul II, and in 2006 a monument to him was unveiled in front of it.

Practical information

• Address: Plebiscytowa 49A, 40-041 Katowice.
• The cathedral is a working church, so services take precedence over sightseeing. The schedule of services can be found at katedra.wiara.pl.
• The parish website does not give the hours and rules for entering the terrace and the Upper Silesian Pantheon, so check them before your visit with the institution that runs the pantheon.