A late Baroque church of the Brothers Hospitallers in Kazimierz with a façade by Franciszek Placidi, built in 1741-1758.
The Holy Trinity Church at ulica Krakowska 48 in Kazimierz is a late Baroque church of the Brothers Hospitallers, known above all for its façade. It stands in a row of monastery buildings, near the Old Synagogue, and fits well into a walk around the former town of Kazimierz.
Construction began in 1741, after the Trinitarians, who had come to Kraków in 1688, received land in Kazimierz from the starost of Oświęcim, Józef Adam Lubowiecki. After two years the work stopped because of financial difficulties and resumed in 1751. The finished church was consecrated in 1758 by Bishop Franciszek Potkański.
The Trinitarian order was dissolved in 1796 by the Austrian authorities, and the building was turned into a military store. In 1812, under a decree of the Duke of Warsaw, Frederick Augustus I, the church was taken over by the Brothers Hospitallers, moved here from the closed church of St Ursula. To this day the church is the conventual church of that order. The historian Żegota Pauli lived in the monastery for the last 25 years of his life, and a plaque on the building is dedicated to his memory.
The façade was designed by Franciszek Placidi, and sources count it among the most beautiful in Poland. He took inspiration from the works of Francesco Borromini. The ceiling of the interior is decorated with an illusionistic polychrome by Josef Pilz of Moravia: it shows Mary with angels and the ransom of Christian captives by St John of Matha. A new side altar with a restored painting of St John of God was also made in the church.
From here you can walk to the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi to compare two very different Kraków church interiors.
Be the first! Add a comment.
You need to log in to add a comment.
Log in