Basilica of St Margaret in Nowy Sącz

At the base of the north tower is a door on which four town trumpeters signed their names in 1617 – today the inscription is known mainly from a drawing by the painter Stanisław Wyspiański. The Basilica of St Margaret in Nowy Sącz is the town's oldest church, a former collegiate church and the Shrine of the Transfiguration, standing right next to the market square. Inside, medieval paintings sit alongside Renaissance and Baroque features and a modern organ.

History: from parish church to collegiate church and basilica

The church dates from the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, and the earliest mention of it comes from 1303. On 4 October 1448 Cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki raised it to the rank of a collegiate church and set up a chapter of canons. The chapter lasted 343 years – its last meeting took place on 14 July 1791, when Nowy Sącz was already under Austrian rule. It was only revived in 1996.

Two towers were added in the 15th century: the north tower (1460) and the south tower (completed in 1507). Because of construction faults the south tower threatened to collapse, so around 1580 it was pulled down and rebuilt in Renaissance style. Among its bells was "Michael the Archangel", said to be the largest in the Lesser Poland region after Kraków's Sigismund Bell. The Austrians requisitioned the bells for the war effort in 1916, and the Germans took two new ones in 1941. In 1992, the 700th anniversary of the town, Pope John Paul II granted the church the title of minor basilica.

What to see inside

• A Gothic wall painting from 1360 on the south wall of the chancel – a fragment of scenes of martyrdom and the Crucifixion, discovered only in 1970.
• The Transfiguration painting in the high altar – a 15th-century Italian work, brought here in 1785 and venerated ever since.
• A 14th-century Madonna and Child and a frieze of apostle reliefs, said to have been brought back after the Battle of Grunwald (1410).
• Three Gothic portals from the 15th century, a Gothic wall tabernacle, a font from 1557 and a Renaissance tombstone from 1565.
• A 16th-century iron-clad sacristy door and a 34-stop organ by Włodzimierz Truszczyński from 1978.

Did you know?

• Originally the church had an unusual two-nave layout with three pillars placed along the central axis. Architects considered this a compositional mistake, and the pillars were removed in later rebuilding.
• In 1969–1973 the vaults were replaced with a reinforced-concrete ceiling, and in 1955–1959 the towers were restored to their earlier appearance.
• Every August the basilica draws pilgrims for the great feast of the Transfiguration.

Tripto tip

The basilica is at Plac Kolegiacki 1, a few minutes from the market square. It is an active parish church and shrine, so visit outside Mass times and keep quiet. Thirty to forty minutes is enough for a leisurely look. Look for the Gothic painting on the south wall of the chancel and the door with the trumpeters' signatures in the north tower. Then walk to the market square with its town hall and along Lwowska Street to the Gothic House; if you cannot visit in person, the parish website offers a virtual tour of the interior.