Cathedral of St. Bartholomew, Plzeň

The Cathedral of St. Bartholomew (Katedrála svatého Bartoloměje), originally the Church of St. Bartholomew, is a Gothic church located on the Main Square in Plzeň, Czech Republic. It was probably established together with the city around the year 1295. The church became a cathedral in 1993, when the Plzeň diocese was created. It was designated a national cultural monument of the Czech Republic in 1995.

The Cathedral of St. Bartholomew was established probably simultaneously with the city of Plzen around the year 1295. Originally, it was only an affiliated branch of the Church of All Saints in Malice, which is a part of the Roudná neighbourhood. The patron of both churches was the Czech king; in 1310 the King Henry of Bohemia (1265–1335) bestowed the patronal right upon the Teutonic Order. However, the same year, the king was banished from the Czech country and the Order didn't dare to take hold of their right. The Teutonic Order finally enforced this right from John of Bohemia (1296–1346) in 1322. However, next problem arose with the conflict over a presbytery with the Church of All Saints, resulting in favour of the Teutonic Order in 1342. The takeover of the clergy houses therefore probably became the motive for the initiation of the church construction. The Teutonic Order remained its patron until 1546, when the city of Plzeň got the abovementioned patronal right. The Diecese of Plzeň was established by Pope John Paul II on 31 May 1993, and then the parish church became a cathedral, the urban church of the bishop.

The exact date of the start of its construction is not known, but the oldest extant allusion comes from the year 1307, when the townsman Wolfram Zwinillinger bequeathed the malt and drying factory to St. Bartholomew with the condition of serving a church mass on behalf of his soul. Therefore, it could be estimated that the church could have been established approximately around the same year as the city of Plzeň - shortly after 1295. However, it is not known where it stood. The placement of the church on a public market place was a very unusual solution. The construc

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