Collegiate Church (Zamość)

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Collegiate Church

The Zamość Collegiate Church is a listed church building in the center of Zamość , a town with around 65,000 inhabitants in the Lublin Voivodeship in the south-eastern part of Poland . The building, which was built from 1587 to 1630 according to a design by Bernardo Morando , is one of Poland's most beautiful churches from the Mannerist period . It is the cathedral church of the Zamość-Lubaczów diocese , which has existed since 1992 .

Building description and history

More views of the church
The plan and fortress town of Zamość around 1617
The collegiate church at night
sacristy
North side

The collegiate church in Zamość is dedicated to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the apostle Thomas . It comes from Mannerism, a form of the late Renaissance . It was built between 1587 and 1630 based on designs by the Venetian master builder Bernardo Morando (1540–1600). Construction began under the Polish magnate Jan Zamoyski (1542–1605), who also founded the city in 1580 and under whose aegis the Zamoyski family became one of the most important families of magnates in the aristocratic republic . The building was to become the main church of the planned and fortress town of Zamość. It is based on the model of the Italian churches of this era. In the years from 1824 to 1826 the exterior was redesigned, including the rebuilding of the once high gable of the sacred building .

The nave of the collegiate church has a square floor plan. It was built with five bays . On the sides of the nave there are rows of unconnected chapels. An equally square choir can be found in the east of the nave . On its sides, open chapels were added to the north and south, with the north being converted into a sacristy between 1790 and 1792 .

  • Southeast view

  • The choir with the side chapels

  • Northwest view

Equipment (selection)

Some works of art in the collegiate church
The altar in the choir

The interior of the church is dominated by a tall, bright nave. On the sides there are arcades on slender pillars , which open to the slightly darker side aisles. The nave and choir each have barrel vaults. A stucco cassette net is incorporated under the vaulted ceiling of the choir. The nave has a stucco decoration dating back to the time of construction, as is more common in the Lublin area.

A four-part cycle of paintings by the Italian painter Tommaso Dolabella (1570–1650) from 1627 can be found in the choir of the church . The paintings refer thematically to the apostle Thomas. In one of the chapels on the north side an altar painting depicting the Annunciation can be seen. Other pieces of equipment include a bronze baptismal font from the second half of the 17th century, goldsmiths' work that is considered valuable and vestments from around 1700.

  • Choir with altar and cycle of paintings

  • pulpit

  • Organ loft

  • Longhouse

  • South arcades

Tombs and memorials

Several epitaphs can be found in the collegiate church. Jan Zamoyski's grave is located in the Zamoyski Chapel . The grave slab embedded in the floor consists of black marble and is decorated with bronze insignia, inscriptions and other decorations.

  • Zamosc katedra 13.jpg

  • Jan Zamoyski on the painting by an unknown artist

  • Kolegiata zamojska-obecnie katedra (10) .jpg

Web links

Commons : Collegiate Church (Zamość)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Notes and individual references

  1. ^ Monument database of the Polish Lublin Voivodeship , accessed on October 31, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Jerzy Z. Lozinski (ed.): Art monuments in Poland . Southeast Poland. Arkady-Verlag, Warsaw / Leipzig 1984, p. 485 (German edition).
  3. ↑ This painting cannot be found in the collegiate church.

Coordinates: 50 ° 42 ′ 59 ″  N , 23 ° 15 ′ 1.1 ″  E