The Parish Church, Kazimierz Dolny

9,2 /10

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WWW:

www.kazimierz-fara.pl

Tel.:

(81) 881-08-70

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9.2 Exceptional

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10
MAGDA JARDZIOCH
2022-07- 4 8:17:24

Piękny kościół

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Rating9.2

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It is impossible to trace the history of the parish church. There are few documents left. Some researchers claim that a late romanesque style brick church may have existed there as early as the 12th century. However, this theory has not been confirmed by the archaeological examinations carried out so far. The parish was first mentioned in the Apostolic Chamber documents from the years 1325-1328. The church was made of stone and was much smaller then. At the turn of the 14th century, the nave was enlarged and the tower was added to its western side. In 1561 the gothic church was destroyed by the fire; it lay in ruin for the next 25 years. It is said that the protestant family of Firlej who controlled the Kazimierz town council had been involved in it. The reconstruction of the church was commissioned to Mateusz Bech, the parish-priest, in 1586. He was a learned man who was acquainted with current trends in art due to his stay in the capital. He decided that the gothic church would be rebuilt in the renaissance style. The main structural changes consisted in heightening the walls and building a new barrel vault with lunettes. The choir was reshaped and the interior walls were given sections which were outlined by pilaster strips and architraves. The scarps were made to look like pilasters and the former gothic gables were replaced with renaissance ones. The floor was made of black, blue and pink marble. The church was given stone facing. The presbytery was rebuilt by a renowned Italian architect living in Poland named Jakub Balin. The works were finished in 1613. The slim gothic structure with renaissance extensions and decorations soon became a blue print for modernisation of other gothic churches and construction of new ones. In the Lublin region there are many examples of this style. They were described and catalogued by prof. Tatarkiewicz. The Kazimierz granaries owe their beauty to the parish church.

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It is impossible to trace the history of the parish church. There are few documents left. Some researchers claim that a late romanesque style brick church may have existed there as early as the 12th century. However, this theory has not been confirmed by the archaeological examinations carried out so far.

The parish was first mentioned in the Apostolic Chamber documents from the years 1325-1328. The church was made of stone and was much smaller then. At the turn of the 14th century, the nave was enlarged and the tower was added to its western side.

In 1561 the gothic church was destroyed by the fire; it lay in ruin for the next 25 years. It is said that the protestant family of Firlej who controlled the Kazimierz town council had been involved in it.

The reconstruction of the church was commissioned to Mateusz Bech, the parish-priest, in 1586. He was a learned man who was acquainted with current trends in art due to his stay in the capital. He decided that the gothic church would be rebuilt in the renaissance style. The main structural changes consisted in heightening the walls and building a new barrel vault with lunettes. The choir was reshaped and the interior walls were given sections which were outlined by pilaster strips and architraves. The scarps were made to look like pilasters and the former gothic gables were replaced with renaissance ones. The floor was made of black, blue and pink marble. The church was given stone facing. The presbytery was rebuilt by a renowned Italian architect living in Poland named Jakub Balin. The works were finished in 1613. The slim gothic structure with renaissance extensions and decorations soon became a blue print for modernisation of other gothic churches and construction of new ones. In the Lublin region there are many examples of this style. They were described and catalogued by prof. Tatarkiewicz. The Kazimierz granaries owe their beauty to the parish church.

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Zamkowa 6, Kazimierz Dolny