The cathedral basilica in Sandomierz — a Gothic cathedral with Ruthenian frescoes

The cathedral basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the main religious monument of Sandomierz, raised between 1360 and 1382 at the foundation of Casimir the Great on the site of an earlier collegiate church destroyed by Tatar and Lithuanian raids. The church was built in the Gothic style as a hall with rib vaults, later enriched with Baroque and Rococo furnishings. Its greatest treasure is the set of Byzantine-Ruthenian frescoes in the chancel from the first half of the 15th century, funded by King Władysław Jagiełło, who often stayed here. The former collegiate church was raised to the rank of cathedral in 1818 with the creation of the Sandomierz diocese, and since 1960 it has held the title of minor basilica.

fot. Marek Marcola