St. Nicholas Cathedral in Bielsko-Biala - the cathedral of the Bielsko-Zywiec diocese, and one of the largest churches in Bielsko-Biala. It is located in the Old Town, by they St. Nicholas Square and lies within the territory of the Decanate of Bielsko-Biala I - Centrum. It also serves as a parish church (St. Nicholas Parish). The cathedral was built in the years 1443?1447, but did not obtain its present shape until 1912. As a result of numerous reconstructions, it has elements of most architectural styles - from Gothic to Modernism. History The first church on this site was erected between 1443 and 1447 in the Gothic style by Prince Wenceslas I of Cieszyn on the site, presumably standing here since the founding of the city, of a wooden church surrounded by a cemetery (a branch of the parish in Stary Bielsko). The construction of the brick temple is connected with the transfer of the parish from the church in Stary Bielsko to the city of Bielsko. At that time its patron saint, St. Nicholas, became the patron saint of the city. From 1559 to 1630 the church was converted into a Lutheran church, the last pastor of which was Jerzy Trzanowski - a preacher and religious writer. Later it was forcibly restored to Catholics, but burned to the ground in 1659. After the fire it was rebuilt at the sumptuous expense of Bielsk baron Julius Gotlieb Sunnegh, who also funded new Baroque furnishings. The church became the burial place of this Lutheran Hungarian family. In 1682, the Bielsk temple was looted by an insurgent Hungarian unit led by Imre Thököle, who killed Pastor Christopher Burian in front of the church. Destroyed by fire in 1750, when lightning melted the bell, the tower clock and burned the roof, it was rebuilt between 1751 and 1756. In 1783 the cemetery surrounding the church was removed, and in 1808 the church fell victim to another fire. Since 1752, the collators of the church were the dukes of Bielsk ? Sulkowski family. Prince John Nepomucen funded new Baroque-classical furnishings between 1815 and 1822, which survived until the 1960s. In 1909- 1912, a major reconstruction was carried out, designed by Viennese architect Leopold Bauer, by expanding the nave and erecting a neo-Romanesque façade with a tall (61 m) tower. In 1992 the diocese of Bielsko-Żywiec was established, and the former parish church of St. Nicholas was elevated to the rank of cathedral.
04.07.2013
