Construction of a church had begun in Poznan (Posen), the residence of the Polish royal dynasty, in 966; it is raised to the status of a cathedral in 968 when the first missionary, Bishop Jordan, comes to Poland.

Saint Peter becomes the patron of the church because, as the first cathedral in the country, it has the right to have the same patron as St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

(The pre-Romanesque church built at this time is about forty-eight meters in length; remains of this building are still visible in the basements of today's basilica.

The first church will survive for about seventy years, until the period of the pagan reaction and the raid of the Bohemian duke Bretislav in the 1030s.

The cathedral will be rebuilt in the Romanesque style, remains of which are visible in the southern tower.

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the church would be rebuilt in the Gothic style, at which time, a crown of chapels will be added.

A fire in 1622 will do such serious damage that the cathedral needs a complete renovation, which will be carried out in the Baroque style.

After another major fire in 1772, the church will be rebuilt in the Neo-Classical style.

In 1821, Pope Pius VII will raise the cathedral to the status of a Metropolitan Archcathedral and add the second patron: Saint Paul.

The last of the great fires will occur on February 15, 1945, during the liberation of the city from the Germans.

The damage is serious enough that the conservators will decide to return to the Gothic style, using as a base medieval relics revealed by the fire.

The cathedral will be reopened on June 29, 1956.

Pope John XXIII will give the church the title of minor basilica in 1962.)