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Cross Exaltation Cathedral

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Plans for the construction of the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in Chernivtsi date back to the 1780s. Emperor Joseph II commissioned the building in 1787, but it was not completed until thirty years later (at 20 Holowna Street). The church was destroyed by fire in 1790. The church was consecrated on 29 July 1814, but was damaged by another fire in 1866 and was not completed in its present form until 1909/10, when the presbytery, aisles and sacristy were added. The high altar was consecrated in 1910 by Archbishop Joseph Bilczewski of Lviv.

Religious buildings and cemeteries

built

1787 - 1814

In 1910 there were 23,000 Catholics in Chernivtsi (27% of the total population). After the Second World War, when most Germans and Poles had left Bukovina, 2,000 Catholics remained in the city. The church continued to function during the Soviet era.

For a long time, the church, with its tall tower, was considered one of the architectural landmarks of Chernivtsi. The tower also served as an observation post when a fire broke out in the city. In 1910 the pointed tower was replaced by a rectangular one. The interior of the church, built in the classicist style, has been preserved in its original form - with stained glass windows and ceiling paintings.

Today the church is mainly used by the small Polish community. Services are held in Polish and Ukrainian. On 19 July 2014, on the occasion of its 200th anniversary, the church received the title of Basilica Minor (the third church in Ukraine).

Special features of the church: a throne for the Austrian emperor was built in the church; the oldest sundial in Western Ukraine is on the outside facade (it shows the local time in Vienna); the church has seven altars.

Text: Iryna Virstiuk