Description

In 1970 Jakub Chojnacki who was then the chairman of the Płock Scientific Society, was at the 13th International Historical Congress in Moscow. While he was there, he went to the Historical Museum located on the Red Square. It was there, where he noticed a plaster copy of the famous Płock Door (older than the famous Gniezno ones) which was made in the 12th century in Magdeburg. It was displayed as “Sigtuńskie Door of the Sofia Council in Novgorod the Great from the 12th century. A copy”. Chojnacki easily recognised them. Another participant of the Congress, professor Benon Dymek, also confirmed it. Soon after his return from Moscow, Jakub Chojnacki wrote “[…] Unexpectedly, I came across the magnificent Romanesque door so well known to anyone who is interested in the history of medieval Płock […] So far, nobody in Poland has known about this cast”. He immediately made a decision: -“[…] we need to make a similar copy for Płock – for the cathedral. After all, the original was once made for it”.
Thanks to many years of his effort, the employees of the Monuments Preservation Workshop in Szczecin made in autumn 1971 in Novgorod a large template of the original Door. Other copies were made by the Monuments Preservation Workshops in Szczecin and Warsaw. Initially, the copy was made of epoxy resin, and only in the second half of 1970s, Płock authorities decided that a bronze replica would be made, and it would be permanently installed in the Cathedral of Płock. Work on casting which weighed two tons took three years. After more than five centuries, a bronze replica of the Płock Door was again installed in the portal of the cathedral on the 23rd of November 1981, and on the 28th of February 1982 it was solemnly consecrated by the Primate of Poland, Archbishop Józef Glemp.