Holy Cross Church, Warsaw

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Church of the Holy Cross

Façade (1990s).
Building information
Town Warsaw
Country Poland
Architect Józef Fontana
Client Michał Stefan Radziejowski
Construction start date 1682
Completion date 1757
Date demolished 1944
Style Baroque
Statue of Christ bearing his Cross, before the church.
Statue of Christ bearing his Cross, before the church.
General view of interior.
General view of interior.
Pillar containing Chopin's heart (just above the bouquet near bottom).
Pillar containing Chopin's heart (just above the bouquet near bottom).
Jackowski's plaque, opposite Chopin memorial, featuring Bolesław Prus' profile and commemorating the "great writer and teacher of the nation"
Jackowski's plaque, opposite Chopin memorial, featuring Bolesław Prus' profile and commemorating the "great writer and teacher of the nation"

Church of the Holy Cross (Polish: Kościół św. Krzyża, also Kościół świętokrzyski) is a Roman Catholic place of worship in downtown Warsaw. Located on Krakowskie Przedmieście, directly opposite the main Warsaw University campus, it is one of the most notable baroque churches in Poland's capital. It is currently run by the Missionary Friars of Vincent de Paul.

Contents

[edit] History

As early as the 15th century, a small wooden chapel of the Holy Cross had been erected on the spot. In 1526 the old chapel was demolished and a newer church was erected. Refurbished and extended by Paweł Zembrzuski in 1615, the church was too small to fit the needs of the growing city. Initially located well outside the city limits, by the 17th century it had become one of the main churches in the southern suburb of the city that had meantime become Poland's capital. In 1656 Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga gave the church to the French order of Missionary Friars of Vincent de Paul. However, later the same year Warsaw had been captured by the Swedish armies during the Deluge. Pillaged, it was found damaged beyond repair. During the reign of John III of Poland the remnants of the church had been demolished and it was decided to erect a new shrine. In the 1700s it was the origin of the gorzkie żale custom.

The main building was constructed between 1679 and 1696. Its main designer was Józef Szymon Bellotti, the royal architect at the Royal Court of Poland. It was financed by abbot Kazimierz Szczuka and the Primate of Poland Michał Stefan Radziejowski. The façade was relatively modest and reminded of Renaissance facades of the nearby churches. The two towers surrounding the façade were initially square-cut. Between 1725 and 1737 two late Baroque headpieces by Józef Fontana. The façade itself was refurbished by Fontana's son, Jakub (in 1756) and ornamented with sculptures by Jan Jerzy Plersch.

From 1765 the church was one of the most attended by Polish King Stanisław August Poniatowski. It was also there that the King established the Order of St. Stanisław and bestowed it upon loyal servants annually on May 8. On May 3, 1792, the Polish Diet gathered there on the first anniversary of the May 3rd Constitution. During the Warsaw Uprising of 1794, the stairs leading to the main entrance were destroyed and had to be replaced with new ones designed by Chrystian Piotr Aigner.

During the times of the partitions, the church gained much importance, especially after the 1861 demonstration in front of it, brutally pacified by the Russian Cossack troops, an event that sparked the January Uprising.

On Christmas day, 1881 the outbreak of panic after false warning of fire in crowded Holy Cross Church resulted in deaths of twenty-nine persons in stampede. The Jews were blamed for starting the panic and the Warsaw pogrom of 1881 erupted.[1]

In late 19th century the interior was slightly refurbished and in 1882 an urn with the heart of Frederic Chopin was added in one of the chapels. Soon afterwards a similar urn was also added with the remains of Władysław Reymont. In 1889 the external staircase leading to the main entrance had been reconstructed and a sculpture of the Christ under the Cross by Pius Weloński had been added. The sculpture is bearing a motto Sursum Corda, a phrase that was to signify the endurance of the Poles under the Russian partition of Poland. In addition to the urns containing the hearts of some of the most renown Polish artists, there are several epitaphs to other notable people of late 19th century and early 20th century. Among them are stone tablets devoted to Bolesław Prus, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Juliusz Słowacki and Władysław Sikorski.

During the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 the church had been severely damaged. Afterwards it was blown up by the Germans. However, between 1945 and 1953 it had been rebuilt in a simplified architectural form by B. Zborowski. The interior was also reconstructed, however without the baroque polychromies and frescoes. The main altar had been reconstructed between 1960 and 1972.

[edit] Trivia

  • The Holy Cross Church and its gardens (now non-existent and occupied by the building of the Ministry of Finances) gave their name to the Świętokrzyska Street, one of the most notable streets in central Warsaw
  • Following the signing of the Gdańsk Accords between the Solidarity and the Communist government of the People's Republic of Poland in 1980 it was decided that a mass be transmitted countrywide by means of state-controlled radio. Since then the weekly mass is recorded in the church of the Holy Cross and then transmitted.

[edit] Notes and references

General:
  1. ^ Brian Porter When Nationalism Began to Hate, Oxford University Press, 2002, ISBN 0195131460, p.162

[edit] Historical images

in the 1770s
before 1828
in the 1890s
in 1945

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 52°14′19″N, 21°1′00″E