St. Mary's Church, Katowice

The plans for establishing the Katowice parish date back to the mid-19th century, during the industrialization of Upper Silesia, leading to rapid population growth in the region.

The decision to build a larger church was made by the then-Bishop of Wrocław, Heinrich Förster, who, during a visit to the canon in Racibórz in the spring of 1861, appointed Alexis Langer as the architect.

Bishop Förster, recognizing the rapid population growth driven by the development of Silesian mining, instructed the architect to design a massive, three-aisled basilica and provided significant financial support for the project.

[1] However, the grandiose plan proved too costly for the still relatively small parish, prompting changes to the architectural design.

Ultimately, a four-bay, single-aisled church with a row of side chapels and passages pierced between the buttresses was constructed, giving the impression of aisles.