Description

Two late Gothic tombstones, cast in bronze, dedicated to the memory of the 15th-century bishops Rudolf von Rüdesheim and Piotr Nowak, are embedded in the walls of the presbytery. They were originally among other tombstones, belonging to local clerical dignitaries, located in the floor of the chancel. He was a native of Rüdesheim in the Rhineland. He studied in Heidelberg, Rome and Cologne, worked as an auditor in the Roman Curia, was a prebendary in Worms, Mainz and Fresden and a canon in Worms. He took part in the Council of Basel. From 1463, Bishop of Lavant, he worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, including as legate in Hungary and Bohemia. As papal legate, he was sent to Poland during the Thirteen Years' War. Favouring the Teutonic Order, he took part in the Nieszawa negotiations. He also witnessed the Peace of Torun concluded in 1466, and was elected bishop of Wroclaw by the chapter in 1468. Bishop Rudolf died in Wroclaw on 17 January 1482, and was buried in the presbytery of the cathedral.