Oliwa Cathedral (Archcathedral Basilica of the Holy Trinity)

Oliwa Cathedral, formally the Archcathedral Basilica of the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Bernard, stands on Biskupa Edmunda Nowickiego Street in the Oliwa district of Gdansk, Poland. The Cistercian abbey was founded in 1186 by Duke Sambor I of Pomerania, and the church was rebuilt several times after fires and wars. The Treaty of Oliwa, signed in the abbey in 1660, ended the Northern War between Poland and Sweden and confirmed the borders in the region. The cathedral is a Gothic basilica with Baroque and Rococo furnishings, and it is one of the longest churches in Poland, with a nave of about 90 metres. The facade has two slender towers flanking a Gothic gable. Inside, the principal attraction is the Rococo organ, completed in 1788 and attributed to Jan Wulff and Michael Engler, with around 7,800 pipes and moving figures of angels and stars that animate during recitals. The cathedral also holds a late Renaissance high altar, numerous side altars, the tomb of the Pomeranian dukes and carved stalls. The abbey buildings next to the cathedral hold a park and the Ethnographic Museum. The church was damaged in the Second World War and has been restored, with conservation continuing on parts of the furnishings. Daily organ recitals are held and the Oliwa International Organ Music Festival takes place in summer. The curatorial approach is that of a working cathedral, so the experience is mostly interior viewing, with information panels and guided tours available. Oliwa Park, next to the abbey, adds a landscaped garden setting for a longer visit.