Kościół Świętych Stanisława, Doroty i Wacława, Wrocław

Before you rises the Church of Saints Stanislaus, Dorothea and Wenceslaus, a Roman Catholic church at the southern edge of Wrocław’s Old Town. Its brick Gothic character means medieval forms shaped in brick rather than carved stone, and this building has survived as one of the city’s best-preserved medieval landmarks. It began in 1351 to mark an agreement between King Casimir the Great and Emperor Charles the Fourth over rights to Silesia.

The three patrons make that political settlement visible: Wenceslaus stands for Bohemia, Stanislaus for Poland, and Dorothea for Silesia. Notice the coats of arms beneath the apse windows; they identify the three realms involved. The builders created a lofty hall church with three aisles, a five-sided chancel, and a cross-vaulted apse.

The chancel was finished in 1381, while the nave and apse followed in 1401. Augustinian hermits initially supervised the work, and Franciscans later occupied the church. Their monastery buildings once adjoined the south side, but were demolished in the late nineteenth century; the Hotel Monopol and a department store rose on their site. The church suffered only slight damage during the Siege of Breslau in the Second World War, then briefly served as Wrocław’s pro-cathedral.