The first church was a small hall without aisles, with a polygonal presbytery, built in the 13th century. In the first half of the 14th century it was replaced by an aisled hall church, which was rebuilt and extended many times and reached its present form at the end of the 15th century. The article names no builder or architect and gives no dimensions. It is a Gothic brick hall with a monumental west tower.
The presbytery has 14th-century paintings of the Crucifixion and the Last Judgement. The Tuba Dei bell, cast in 1500, hangs in the tower and is the third largest in Poland. A 13th-century font is said to have been used to baptize Copernicus. The heart of King John I Albert was buried here after his death in 1501.
It has been a minor basilica since 1935 and a cathedral since 1992. It is a UNESCO site since 1997 and a Historic Monument of Poland since 1994.
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