Ark of the Lord Church in Nowa Huta

For years the people of Nowa Huta, a model socialist-realist town built for steelworkers, fought the communist authorities for a new church. The result of their persistence is the Ark of the Lord (Arka Pana), a boat-shaped church with a 70-metre mast-like cross and one of the most important works of 20th-century Polish church architecture.

History: a church won by struggle

The church is rooted in the 1960 defence of a cross by Nowa Huta residents on the site where a church had originally been planned. The communist authorities eventually allowed construction, but elsewhere, in Bieńczyce. On the initiative of Father Józef Gorzelany, the church was built in 1967–1977 to a design by Wojciech Pietrzyk. It was the first newly built church in Nowa Huta.

On 18 May 1969 Cardinal Karol Wojtyła laid a foundation stone taken from St Peter's Basilica in Rome and blessed by Pope Paul VI. On 15 May 1977 Wojtyła consecrated the church to Our Lady Queen of Poland.

What to see

• The building – the roof makes the church look like an ark and also recalls Le Corbusier's chapel at Ronchamp. Above it rises a 70-metre cross-mast that is also part of the structure.
• Symbolism – seven doors lead inside (the seven sacraments) and seven steps lead to the altar (the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit).
• Altar and tabernacle – the altar is carved from a single block of Carrara marble in the shape of a hand. The tabernacle is a globe encircled by steel rings.
• "From Life to Life" – Bronisław Chromy's monumental sculpture of the crucified Christ dominates the nave; the side walls carry Stations of the Cross by Mariusz Lipiński from 1980–1983.
• Chapel of Reconciliation in the crypt – wooden "Polish Pietàs" by Antoni Rząsa and a small figure of Our Lady of the Armoured made from bullets removed from the wounds of soldiers who fought at Monte Cassino.
• Organ and bells – the 1979 organ by Rudolf von Beckerath of Hamburg has 44 stops and 3,244 pipes. Eight bells on the facade, a gift from Catholics in the Netherlands and Belgium, play hymns on the hour from 6:00 to 21:00.

Interesting facts

The tabernacle holds a stone long presented as a piece of the Moon brought back by the Apollo 11 crew and given by Paul VI to Cardinal Wojtyła. Tests, however, suggest it is an aggregate of pyrite crystals, so its extraterrestrial origin is highly doubtful. The statue of John Paul II by the steps was unveiled in 2009.

Tripto tip

The church is at 1 Obrońców Krzyża Street in the Bieńczyce district. 30–45 minutes is enough for the interior and the crypt. Arrive a few minutes before the hour to hear the carillon. This is a working parish church, so visit outside Mass times. Combine it with a walk around Nowa Huta – Central Square and the socialist-realist housing estates.