St. Catherine's Church

Berlin and Poland 2017»Poland Album»Gdansk - Old Town
St Catherine's Church is the oldest church in Gdańsk, Poland. It was a Protestant church from 1545 until 1945, after which it became a Roman Catholic church.This 14th century brick church, the former parish church of the Old Town and where Hevelius was once church administrator, is also his final resting place. You will find his tomb at the rear behind the altar along with an epitaph funded by his grandson nearly 100 years after the great man's death. Following a fire in 2006, which resulted in the ceiling collapsing, work to restore the church took a number of years. A fairly spartan scene, the highlight is a 76 metre baroque tower housing a 49-bell carillon, which has chimed on the hour - every hour - since the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of WWII in 1939.
It also has worlds first pulsar clock
St. Catherine's Church The whole is 61.5 meters in length and 25 to 40 meters in width. The tower measures 44 m to the base of the helmet and 76 m to the apex. Particularly delighted was always the shape of the peaks crowning the east wall of the presbytery, astonishing with the power of the genius of a famous master who managed to create this miracle (Sister Przybyszewski). St. Catherine's ChurchChurch The lower façade of the façade is smooth, varied only by the doors and windows. The elaborate second floor is characterized by contrasting recesses - broad and shallow at the bottom, deep mustache and at the top and at the sides. St. Catherine's Church In 1634 the old tower was removed and replaced with a new magnificent helmet, created by Jakub van der Block. This has created one of the most picturesque tower scaffolds, which in a surprisingly ingenious, beautiful and beautiful way complements the powerful quadrilateral stem (W. Lübke). After the fire of 2006 new roofs were laid, the sign was reconstructed and the helmet of the tower was restored, which is currently 32 m high and weighs over 30 t. St. Catherine's Church
Interior The interior of the temple consists of an elevated part with two chapels, three nave corps and as many as the chancel, five further chapels, side porches and sacristy. Its length is 57.5 meters, the width is 23.3 to 29.3 meters (with chapels 37) and the vaults are 13 meters high. All the aisles are of the same height - the church is built in the hall system. The interior has 5 entrances and 31 windows are illuminated. The dramatic fate of the temple deprived her of the stained glass. Reconstructed vaults (in the main nave and starboard chapel, in the side nails of the crystal) are supported on 16 pillars. Formerly there were also in the chancel and chapels 18 altars, 2 of which disappeared during the Reformation, and 9 in the 18th century. To date, two altars have been completed, or almost complete, and fragments of 5 more - in the National Museum in Warsaw and in Gdańsk. The last war survived about 40% of pre-war equipment MB Bołszowiecka Our Lady of Bozhevskaya. The painting in metaloplastic setting dates back to the first half of the 17th century. According to the application, it was taken from the Dniester during the fighting with the Tatars. After the victory, the hetman Marcin Kazanowski handed it to the Carmelite church founded in 1624 in Bołszowce near Halicz. After the war, the picture was taken to Krakow and in 1966 to Gdansk. Pulpit At the second pillar on the left (north side) there is a pulpit. Of old, gothic, we do not know much. In 1569 it was replaced by a new, renaissance, with a pelican on the top. The present, completed in 1638, cost 3490 fines. Pulpit Door
Epitaph of Christian Henning Next to the entrance to the chapel on the north wall of the nave the chancel is a magnificent epitaph of Christian Henning, the old town councilman, who died "in the town hall" in 1626. It was founded by his elder son Jan, who - according to the inscription - 3 years later, under Lucca, caught the pirates and pitifully deprived life . According to a testament that Jan had written before leaving, the heirs set up this "monument" in 1838. P1100718 P1100719 P1100720 You can see the remains of the former church of the ancient cemetery, discovered in 1986 by Professor Andrzej Zbierski. The oldest burials in wooden coffins date from the end of the 10th century and indirectly prove the existence of the church at that time.
Baptistery An octagonal baptistery from 1585, founded by Gregory Schmolian, made by Mateusz Gletger from Braniewo. It is a work of high class, a special value inlay intarsje (a kind of mosaic of stained wood). At the entrance, once surrounded by Corinthian columns, you enter the steps. On the door are the intriguing images of the Infant Jesus rising above the city and winged virtues in fancy robes. They are accompanied by the inscriptions Pax Vobis (peace be upon you) and Virtus invidiae victrix (virtue the victor of envy). The baptistery, coming from the same time as the baptistery, was lined with tin and decorated in 1691. Epitaph John Mochinger The epitaph of the late 16th-century pastor John Mochinger, professor of rhetoric at the Academic Gymnasium. The black marble epitaph was founded by his wife Aniel, who came from the Neri family settled in Gdansk.