THE STATUE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN PELPLIN

Abstract

The paper tells the story of the statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception situated on the Cathedral Square in Pelplin. The decision to set it up was made in connection with the nomination and consecration of Bishop Jan Marwicz in 1857 and to honour the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary announced in 1854. The proposal to erect the monument was initiated by the Chelmno Cathedral Chapter and the task was taken over by the Figure Building Committee selected by the chapter. At the request of the Committee the design was prepared by a famous architect from Cologne, Vincenz Statz, one of the constructors of the Cologne cathedral during the years 1840–1880 and the architect of over a hundred neo-Gothic churches and chapels in the Rhineland. The statue itself was made by a sculptor, Peter Fuchs, also active in Cologne. Bishop Marwicz officially consecrated the figure on October 8, 1858. In the fall of 1939 the Germans demolished the statue together with other monuments decorating the town. After the war the damaged statue was unearthed and restored but in a more modest visual form. It was put back in its former place in 1954. It is the most beautiful decoration of the Cathedral piazza which today bears the name of the Marian Square and certain Marian services are celebrated there.