Churches, Warsaw

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I passed by the Carmelite Church (or the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and of St. Joseph) early in the morning of my first day on my way towards the Old Town. The door was open so I went inside. The interior is a wonderfully opulent Rococo design, white with gilding, stucco decorations and paintings.

The Roman Catholic church experienced only minor damage in WWII so it pretty much stands as it did when it was building in the 1700s. A little research told me that this was Chopin’s first place of employment, where he used the church organ to give a recital.

From the outside, be sure to look up at the top to see the green globe that represents the earth.

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In this church is where the Polish princes swore allegiance and pay homage to their kings
Building was completed in the second half of XV century in Gothic style, to the order of the Bernardine, but has been destroyed and rebuilt many times with so many different architectural styles.
Now it is a good example of Baroque
From the belfry are good views

En esta iglesia es donde los príncipes Polacos juraban fidelidad y rendían homenaje a sus reyes
Se acabó de construir en la segunda mitad del siglo XV en estilo gótico , para la orden de los Bernardinos , pero ha sido destruida muchas veces y reconstruida otras tantas con distintos estilos arquitectónicos .
Ahora es una buena muestra de barroco
Desde la torre hay buenas vistas

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Like the old town and most buildings of Nowy Swiat, the Church of the Holy Cross is a post WWII reconstruction. Originally built between 1679 and 1696, it was first a rather simple renaissance building. In the 18th century, it became one of the most splendid Baroque buildings of Warsaw. Especially the remodeling of the towers changed the façade of the church.
In 1944, the church was heavily damaged during the Warsaw Uprising. The façade and some of the interior were destroyed by the Germans on September 6th 1944. From 1945 until 1953, the church was rebuilt, although the façade never gained back its full baroque splendor. The interior was well restored in its original style and contains many famous graves, including a shrine with the heart Frederic Chopin.
The figure of Christ carrying the holy cross is the landmark of the church. This bronze figure was found after the war amidst the rubble with its finger pointing to heaven. You can imagine how the Polish Catholics saw a sign from god in this “gesture”. The sculpture was originally crafted by Pius Welonski in 1889 and became a symbol for Poland’s strength and endurance during the Russian Partition.

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The Archcathedral of St. John the Baptist is considered to be the main church of Warsaw’s old town. Some may even say that it is Poland's main church, but please don't tell that to the Krakowians... Construction began in 1390, with mayor extensions in the 17th and 19th century, the style became English New Gothic style. The constitution of the Polish-Lithuanian Empire was presented to the Public in this building in 1791 and the oath to it sworn. In 1944, German troops blew up most of the church as part of a planned destruction of Warsaw. The remaining walls were destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising in the same year. The reconstruction from 1948 to 1956 took place in its original Gothic style, although many baroque elements made it into the interior.
The interior was restored in Baroque styles with several paintings and sculptures from the 17th century. The crypt was used as a burial place for the Dukes of Masovia and several dignitaries from Polish history. The graves and the crypt can be visited for a small fee.

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The Baroque Church of the Holy Spirit is run by the Pauline Fathers now. The white interior is neither especially amazing nor historically and artistic valuable. I paid attention to a highly decorative pulpit hang on a wall of a thick pillar. The first wooden church and hospital of Holy Spirit (dated 1388) was burnt out during the Swedish invation (17th c.), rebuilt in Baroque style in 1717, badly damaged during WWII and again rebuilt.

The Pauline Fathers more formally known as the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit (Ordo Sancti Pauli Primi Eremitae in Latin) was founded in Hungary. I've seen them inside the church. They are always dressed in white and in Poland are most known as hero defenders of the Paulite monastery of Jasna Gora in city of Czestochowa during the Swedish invasion in 1655 called the Deluge. Each August large walking pilgrimage sets off from Warsaw Church of the Holy Spirit and walks 10 days to the Paulite monastery of Jasna Gora in Czestochowa. Let me say that 219,000 walking pilgrims came to Czestochowa from all over Poland (incl. 18,469 from Warsaw) and also from abroad in 2005. Isn't it an interesting option for some adventerous, low budget and religious travelers with well trained legs :-)?

By coincidence I was lucky to meet a Polish school group visiting the church with a guide. I got to know that the Paulini's coat of arms depicts a date palm tree as the St. Paul of Thebes, the first Christian hermit (canonized in 491) used to eat dates and make clothes from the palm leaves and the two lions which referring to common belief digged a grave for St. Paul.

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This church (Kosciol Opieki sw. Jozefa) and adjacent monastery of the Visitation Order (Zakon Wizytek) was built in the 18th century and is one of the best examples of Polish late Baroque and Rococo style and it's probably the only church in Warsaw which luckily survived WWII.

Its light front facade decorated with numerous statues and coats of arms is classical example of the late Baroque church architecture. But the best I saw when I came in and saw a nave with main altar and 6 side chapels in Baroque style with rich Rococo decorations. Pure beauty! There is an impressive and unique pulpit in a shape of boat. There are a lot of old sculptures, paintings (by old Polish, Italian and French masters), portraits of famous and noble Poles and pretty tabernacle made of ebony and silver. Tabernacle in Roman catholic church is a box/locker put in the back of the presbytery (behind the altar) where the holy bread and wine is kept. It's unlocked by a priest before the Eucharist, the Christian ceremony based on Jesus Christ's last meal with his disciples (= people who believed in his power).

There is monument to Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski in front of the church. It was put in 1986 at the place where, as I was told, people used to arrange a holy cross from flowers and pray for the country in hard times of the martial law introduced by the communist regime in December 1981 to destroy the Solidarity movement, human rights and basic freedoms. This cross was regularly removed by "unnown perpetrators" (read Polish KGB) at night and again arranged by the locals next day. It lasted by the time locals were allowed to watch the cross at night that was when a curfew was called off by the regime.

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WOW! A renovated Baroque interior of St. Ann's Academic Church (fantastic frescos and rococo altars) is unbelievanle beautiful, among the most beautiful I have ever seen (open 10am - 6pm, closed on Monday). There are books about history and architecture of this church.

The church first built in Gothic style for the Observantists (called Bernardines in Poland) in 1454 was many times damaged by people (wars, looting) and nature (fires, winds) but always rebuilt. The church was completely ruined in 1657 during the Deluge, the Swedish and others invasion. It survived both WWII (with some bad damages though) and communist regime although it almost collapsed in 1949 during construction the Route East - West (Trasa W-Z ). During last years the church was part by part pretty renovated.

This academic church played a great role in times of the Solidarity movement (1980-1981) and later during martial law against the movement (1982 - 1989) giving a shelter for many Polish patriots thus made a great contribution to the victory of democracy. Nowadays it is the most popular church in Warsaw for young couples to get married due to common belief that it gives long and happy life.

The facade in mixed, both Baroque and Classical style, was built in 1778. There is a plaque on the wall outside which marks the spot where Pope John Paul II met youths in 1979, during his first visit to Poland after his election to the papacy. He told the nation under communist regime "do not be afraid" and... 14 months later the nation created the anticommunist Solidarity movement. There is the late Renaissance Bell Tower left to the main facade which offers to visitors the viewing tarrace on the top with the most beautiful panorama of the city. The tower and the facade have been linked by a columnade since 1821.

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This church is the main Orthodox church in town, Cathedral status. It was built to serve local needs, as more and more Russian migrated to Praga district.

The construction began in 1867 and took 2 years to build it.

I see actually quite unusual, that when visiting Warsaw I saw only one Orthodox church. As I read in travel guides, there was one big in Saski gardens, but later demolished by Poles themselves.