Chicago Churches of the Polish Cathedral Style

There's no better example of the bonds between the Church, Poland, and Chicago, than the churches in the Polish Cathedral style.

Here are six of Chicago's grand examples, illustrated. A great addition to any proud Polonia home.

Giclée print. Size: 11" x 14." Printed on natural tone, heavyweight (300 gsm) 100% cotton archival paper.

More background, courtesy of Emily Cichon, who provided the spark for this print:

An architectural style prevalent in Catholic churches in the Great Lakes region, the Polish Cathedral Style dominates the Chicago landscape, especially in the Bucktown and Wicker Park neighborhoods. The style is an ornate reflection of church design during the Polish Golden Age of the 16th century, which favored opulent Renaissance and Baroque elements as opposed to the popular Gothic-style that dominated Europe in the Middle Ages. Highly visible from Chicago’s busiest freeways, churches of the Polish Cathedral Style are universally large in scale, having been built to serve rapidly growing immigrant communities where Poles settled in large numbers. As the ethnic Polish population of Chicago has dispersed into the suburbs and other areas of the city, these churches continue to be the focus of religious life for new immigrant communities and their descendants.