Saint Johns’s Cathedral in Torun

Torun cathedral of saint John the Baptiser and saint John the Evangelist is the oldest Gothic church in the Land of Chelmno, the beginnings of which are connected with the moment of granting Torun the City Rights in 1233. The building of the church started shortly after trans-location of the city to its present location (1233-1236). At first the choir was built and the main aisle followed.

In late XIII century, a three-aisle church, which was lower and narrower than the present church, was built. In XIV and XV century the church was enlarged. Its dimensions reached over 56 m in length, and the height of the interior exceeded 27 m. In 1406 an unknown tower collapsed and a second tower was built to the height of 52 m. A massive 7 tonne bell was hung in the tower. The bell was cast in Torun in 1500 and was named “Tuba Dei” ie. “God’s Trumpet”, it is one of the biggest bells in Poland – its diameter is 2.17 m. In the Lutheran period, the protestants used the church and whitewashed the walls of the church to cover the paintings. The interior is decorated mainly in baroque style. A Gothic XIII century font in which Nicolaus Copernicus was baptized can still be found in the church.

Address: Zeglarska Street

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