Silesian Vespers

This is the evening view of the western facade of the gothic, island cathedral in Wrocław (modern Poland). The bishopric of Wrocław was founded in the year 1000 as one of the four dioceses belonging to the newly founded archdiocese of Gniezno, established as part of the political programme of the first Polish rulers who wished to create an independent church hierarchy serving their newly Christianised kingdom. For years the city of Wrocław served as the political and spiritual capital of the region of Silesia, which frequently changed hands between the Kingdom of Poland, Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire. In its high day it was the second largest city in Poland and the principal seat of a powerful line of Polish princes. In year 1241, the most famous of them, Prince Henry the Pious, called for the support of the Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic knights and dared to oppose the Mongol armies invading Central Europe but suffered a devastating defeat. Medieval paintings often depict his severed head on a Mongol lance...The cathedral was among the earliest gothic structures built in the region, but sadly, suffered substantial damage during WWII during which Wrocław (by then inhabited mainly by Germans) was defended by the German Army even after Berlin capitulated. Thoroughly restored today, it remains one of the most important of the many medieval monuments of the city.
PS. The title alludes to the famous Sicilian Vespers of 1282