St. John the Baptist (Gniezno)
The Rector Church of St. John the Baptist in Gniezno (Polish: Kościół rektorski św. Jana Chrzciciela w Gnieźnie ) is a Gothic hall church in Gniezno from the middle of the 14th century with valuable wall paintings from this period.
Building the church
Around 1179 the Canon von Gniezno brought from Miechowo (Polish village in the Warmia-Masurian Voivodeship ) knights of the Knightly Order from the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (the order was created during the Crusades to defend the Christ grave in Jerusalem) and placed them in front of the church Exit Holy Cross Gniezno . The symbol of the order was the cross with a double crossbar. In 1243 Przemysław I and Bolesław the Pious donated a church and monastery to the knights of the order on the outskirts of Gniezno, where there was already a hospital. The church of St. John the Baptist has stood on this hill since the 14th century. The start of construction is dated to 1331 after the destruction of Gniezno by the Teutonic Order .
Architecture and interior
The Church of St. John the Baptist is an oriented , single-nave , long and brick -walled building. The choir (height 5.6 m / width 5.15 m / length 7.50 m) faces east and is somewhat older than the nave , which has two cross vaults . These are separated into individual yokes by belt arches . The yokes are located as space compartments between four pillars : Strong, diagonal ribs extending from the pillars divide the space into four or more adjoining triangles that are laterally delimited by the walls.
Presbytery (choir room)
The original presbytery had only three windows in the 14th century; two on the wall closed on both sides and one on the south wall. The later window on the south wall is probably a copy from the 16th century and two others from the end of the 17th century. Today all six church walls have window openings.
Nave, steeple and monastery
The nave was built in the second half of the 14th century. It is located to the west of the church tower (which houses the sacristy in the basement ) and is four bays long or slightly higher and wider than the presbytery. Its construction elements ( vault ribs , pilasters , consoles , window frames) are made of artificial stone . On the consoles there are magnificent figure and animal decorations: on the north wall a fox and geese , on the south wall the feeding of hatched pelican chicks and masks, surrounded by leaves. On the keystone of the vault ribs are three pilasters in the form of a canopy (the fourth pilaster is destroyed). Where the vault ribs cross, there are two buttons and flowers with a double crown. Otherwise, numerous rosettes and five-petalled flowers adorn the vaulted ribs. The five ogival church windows correspond to the typical features of the Gothic architectural style. The church portal to the nave is Gothic on the south side (with decorated bricks) and on the north side, built in the 17th century, baroque. The gates of the sacristy to the nave are made of cast iron , relics of an old castle.
The church tower has four floors. On its north side in the cellar there is a round window made of four-leaf, delicate stone. On the other floors, the windows and dashboards are pointed and round. The spire of flat copper is baroque (from the year 1666) and carries two lamps . The cornice is decorated with ornate stones.
Next to the church is the Gothic-style, multi-storey monastery with a cellar, which was later partially baroque. A gallery on the first floor connects the monastery with the church. A primary school has been located in the monastery since the end of the 20th century.
Canon and Knight of the Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
In 1163, at the beginning of the First Crusade , numerous knights of the Catholic Order of the Holy Sepulcher (OESSH) settled in Gniezno , through which a hospital and a monastery existed as early as 1243 thanks to a Przemysł II foundation . Known in Poland as Miechowitami (because of the main knight monastery in Miechowo ), they worked in religious, pastoral, charitable and educational areas. The canonical branch, based on the rules of St. Augustine , only disintegrated in 1819 with the dissolution of the order of knights in the Russian occupied territory. The preserved buildings from the time of the Knightly Order are the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Michowo, the Knightly Order Complex in Przeworsk and the monastery and the Rector Church of St. John the Baptist in Gniezno. The Catholic Knightly Order of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (recognized by the papal community of Catholic lay people and priests), which is a legal person under canon law , was confirmed by John Paul II on February 1, 1996, is experiencing a particular bloom .
Multimedia round view
literature
- Kazimierz Kociński: Kościół Bożogrobców w Gnieźnie . Gniezno: Wydawnictwo Popularnonaukowe Plinta, 2009. ISBN 978-83-925498-9-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Text: Ks. Kan. Dr Kazimierz Kociński - Rector Kościoła
- ^ Statute of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (in the version approved by Pope Paul VI on July 19, 1977)
Coordinates: 52 ° 32 ′ 16.5 " N , 17 ° 35 ′ 51.7" E