Cathedral of SS James and Agnes

Top choice in Silesia


Nysa’s mighty cathedral dominates the northern end of the Rynek with its imposing walls of time-soiled brick and a vast gabled roof – one of the steepest in Europe. Built in two stages, its current Gothic exterior dates to 1430 – aside from remodelling after a fire in 1542, little has changed. Of note are the fine stone double portal and the 18 brick columns striding across an austere, echoing interior last updated in the late 19th century.

On closer inspection, you’ll see that its side chapels (a total of 18) boast wonderful stained glass and a wealth of tombstones, funeral monuments and epitaphs, making up the largest collection of funerary sculpture in any Silesian church.

The free-standing block next to the cathedral is the bell tower, which was begun 50 years after the church was built; it was originally intended to be more than 100m high. Despite 40 years’ work it reached only half that height, and consequently looks truncated and oddly proportioned, especially with the tiny turret tacked onto it.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Silesia attractions

1. Rynek

0.09 MILES

Diverse architecture within Nysa's vast market square suggests the extent of damage done in WWII. Only the southern side retains anything akin to its…

2. Town Weighing House

0.11 MILES

This attractive civic building, built in 1604 to house Nysa's official weights and measures, is a survivor of both the Napoleonic and Red armies; it…

3. Nysa Museum

0.14 MILES

Established in Nysa's grand 17th-century Bishops' Palace in 1897, this museum exhibits include local archaeology from prehistory to early modern times…

4. Wrocław Gate Tower

0.15 MILES

Originally guarding a gate to Nysa's city walls, the white-plastered Wrocław Tower was built in the 14th century and added to in the 17th.

5. Ziębice Tower

0.17 MILES

This four-storey 14th-century brick tower is now freestanding, but once guarded a gate through the town walls. Note its unusual turrets and dragon…

6. St Hedwig's Bastion

0.17 MILES

The restored 17th-century St Hedwig’s Bastion once housed a Prussian garrison and French prisoners during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. Beneath the…

7. Church of SS Peter and Paul

0.21 MILES

Built between 1720 and 1727 for the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, this church has one of Silesia’s best baroque interiors, complete with elaborate stucco…

8. Wrocław Gate Tower

14.36 MILES

Visitors can climb this impressive 30m tower, built into the town walls in the 14th century. Ask for the key at the adjacent kiosk, on ul Armii Krajowej.

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "poland/nysa/attractions/cathedral-of-ss-james-and-agnes/a/poi-sig/1422477/360309",
      "destination": "Silesia",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Poland",
      "region": "Silesia",
      "position": "superzone"
    }