Collegiate Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary (Wiślica)

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Basilica of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, east elevation
West view around 1895 by Michał Elwiro Andriolli
inner space
Plaque commemorating the Wiślica Statute

The Collegiate Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary ( Polish: Bazylika kolegiacka Narodzenia Najświętszej Marii Panny w Wiślicy ) is a Roman Catholic collegiate and parish church in Wiślica in the southern Polish Voivodeship of the Holy Cross . The Gothic church was built in the 14th century under Casimir the Great on the foundations of two Romanesque predecessor churches. It bears the title of a collegiate church and a basilica minor since 2005 and was declared a historical monument in 2018.

history

Predecessor churches

Prince Henryk Sandomierski started the construction of the first Romanesque collegiate church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary. The church was completed in the second half of the 12th century during the reign of his brother Casimir the Just . The small east-facing hall had a retracted choir, which was closed with an apse. In the western part of the nave there was a small gallery. The remains of the crypt under the chancel have been preserved.

At the beginning of the 13th century the second, enlarged collegiate church of St. John of God was built. The three-aisled church was designed as a basilica . The chapels were in the north and south nave. The vault was supported by six pillars. There were two towers on the west facade.

Today's church

The third collegiate church in Wiślica, which has survived to this day, was founded by Casimir the Great and bears the patronage of the Birth of Mary . Construction began in 1350, although the lower western massif from the earlier Romanesque church was preserved. The political importance of the church is reflected in the decoration. The king had it built as an expiatory church for the murder of canon Marcin Baryczko. In 1464 the canon Jan Długosz created a memorial plaque on which Casimir presented a model of the church to the Madonna and Child in the presence of Bishop Bodzanta. This is located above the portal on the south side. The church has been repaired and restored repeatedly over the centuries.

In 1915 the church was badly damaged by the Austrian artillery. The west facade and the single, Romanesque tower of the previous church were badly damaged. The church was rebuilt in the 1920s under the direction of Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz . In 1924 the Bishop of Kielce, Augustyn Łosiński, restored the collegiate status that had been lost in 1819 .

In 1958, during archaeological research in the basement of the church, the remains of Romanesque churches were discovered.

In 2002 the basilica, along with the neighboring Dlugosz House, was included in the list of the World Monuments Fund as one of a hundred monuments threatened by destruction worldwide .

architecture

The lower part of the church was built from stone blocks. The brick gable of the west facade is the result of the reconstruction after war damage in the 1920s. The two-aisled church has a retracted choir with a ribbed vault . The nave has a three-part, partly star-shaped vault. It is supported by three slender polygonal columns.

An annex for the sacristy and treasury was added to the north side in the second half of the 17th century. The main entrance is on the south side. A sharp-edged portal leads into the interior of the building.

The north portal dates from the second half of the 14th century and is decorated with carved coats of arms: two Piast eagles and the coat of arms of Greater Poland . There is a walled-up window near the portal, from which, according to tradition, the statute of Wiślica was announced.

literature

  • Jurecki M., Matyja G., Ponidzie. W świętokrzyskim stepie, Kraków: Bezdroża. 2004, ISBN 83-89676-16-8 .
  • M. Pieniążek-Samek: Bazylika Mniejsza pw.Narodzenia NMP w Wiślicy. Kielce, Jedność, 2005, ISBN 83-7442-259-9 .

Web links

Commons : Basilica of the Nativity  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bazylika Narodzenia NMP on gcatholic.org
  2. ^ List of cultural monuments, page 5 (Polish)
  3. ↑ 100 Pomników Historii na 100-lecie odzyskania niepodległości MKiDN - 2018. December 10, 2018, accessed on April 22, 2020 (Polish).
  4. ↑ J. Gadomski: funkcja kościołów Fundacji Kazimierza Wielkiego w świetle heraldycznej Rzeźby architektonicznej. Funkcja dzieła sztuki. Materiały Sesji Stowarzysze-nia Historyków Sztuki, Szczecin, listopad 1970, Warsaw 1972, pp. 103-116
  5. ↑ Wiślica Archaeological Site (English)

Coordinates: 50 ° 20 ′ 55.9 "  N , 20 ° 40 ′ 25.7"  E