Collegiate Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Kruszwica

On the eastern shore of Lake Gopło stands a church that may have been a cathedral in the 12th century — before the bishops moved their seat to Włocławek. The Collegiate Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Kruszwica, built in 1120–1140, is one of the best-preserved Romanesque buildings in Poland: granite and sandstone masonry, five apses and a stark, almost untouched basilica interior.

History: the bishops' church by Lake Gopło

The present church is dated to 1120–1140. It was probably the seat of the Kuyavian bishopric, which moved to Włocławek around 1148, and later received the title of collegiate church (served by a chapter of canons). Finds from excavations in 1960–1961 support this theory: 12th-century graves inside the church contained a chalice with a paten and an embroidered silk stole — objects typical of burials of senior clergy. In 1422 the collegiate church took over parish rights, and in 1559 St Paul joined St Peter as its patron.

The church has been through several transformations. In the 16th century the two Romanesque west towers were lowered and a single brick tower was built between them. In the 17th and 18th centuries the interior was given a Baroque makeover, and a restoration in 1856–1859 gave the building a mock Romanesque-Gothic look. Only work in 1954–1956 restored its Romanesque form, and in 1970 Pope Paul VI made it a minor basilica.

What to see

It is a three-aisled pillared basilica on a Latin-cross plan, with a transept and five apses of different sizes. The walls are built of cut stone — glacial boulders such as granite dominate the lower courses, while the upper parts are of sandstone brought from near Konin. Walk round the church from the east, where the apses form the most striking view, and then along the south side.

Look out for:

• Romanesque portals — two in the south wall of the nave and one in the south transept, with a relief of a cross in the tympanum,
• a plain portal in the north transept, probably once a "door of the dead", with the tombstone of Zofia Oporowska (d. 1500) set into it,
• a stone baptismal font from the 11th century and a granite one from the 12th century,
• late Gothic sculptures from the early 16th century and 18th-century figures of kneeling angels,
• 17th-century marble plaques commemorating the church's origins and its first bishops.

Interesting facts

In 1945 the lower parts of the original stone altars were found in the transept apses, and fragments of geometric painted decoration in red, white and blue were uncovered on the arcades. The layout of the portals once suggested that a monastery stood next to the church. Archaeological research in 1995–1998, however, showed that no monastic buildings were ever attached to it.

Tripto tip

The collegiate church is an active parish church, so plan your visit around services; current Mass times are on the parish website. Allow 30–45 minutes for the church and a walk round its walls — the best light on the stone apses is in the morning, when the sun comes from the east.

Combine the visit with a walk along Lake Gopło and the Mouse Tower (Mysia Wieża), the remains of Casimir the Great's castle, linked to the legend of the wicked Prince Popiel. Kruszwica lies on the Piast Trail, so you can continue to Strzelno with its Romanesque basilica and rotunda. Inside, keep quiet and do not take photos during services.