[1] A first church at the location of the present cathedral was built under Přemyslid rule in the mid-10th century, a fieldstone building with one nave about 25 m (82 ft) in length, including a distinctive transept and an apse.

After the Polish conquest of Silesia and the founding of the Wrocław diocese under the Piast duke Bolesław I the Brave in 1000, this Bohemian church was replaced by a larger basilical structure with three naves, a crypt, and towers on its eastern side.

A larger, Romanesque-style church was soon built in its place in the times of Duke Casimir I, and expanded similar to Płock Cathedral on the behest of Bishop Walter of Malonne in 1158.

After the end of the first Mongol invasion of Poland, the church was again largely rebuilt in the present-day Brick Gothic style.

The cathedral was severely damaged (about 70% of the building) during the Siege of Breslau and heavy bombing by the Red Army in the last days of World War II.