Co-Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Żywiec

According to the 18th-century chronicler Andrzej Komoniecki, the Renaissance tower of Żywiec's parish church was taller than the towers of St Mary's Basilica in Kraków. Today it stands 60 metres high, and since 2019 visitors can climb to its stone gallery for views over Żywiec and the Beskid Mountains. The Co-Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary combines Gothic walls, a Renaissance tower, a Baroque interior and the Habsburg burial chapel — it is the town's most interesting religious building.

History: a Komorowski foundation

The church was founded in the 15th century by the Komorowski family (Korczak coat of arms), the lords of Żywiec at the time. Between 1515 and 1542 the walls were raised and the chancel and nave extended, and in 1547 Bishop Erazm Ciołek of Kraków consecrated it to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and St Lawrence. In 1582–1585 the Italian builder Giovanni (Jan) Ricci from Opava added the tower with its arcaded gallery, and in 1596–1608 the domed Renaissance burial chapel of the Komorowskis was built.

A great fire in 1711 destroyed the roof and the tower's spire, and lightning damaged the tower again in 1776. An artillery shell hit the gallery in 1945; it was repaired a year later. In 1929 the Habsburg burial chapel, designed by Franciszek Mączyński, was added on the south side, and in 1992 the church became the co-cathedral of the newly created Diocese of Bielsko-Żywiec.

What to see

• The Dormition altar — a late Gothic relief from around 1500 in the left side altar. According to Komoniecki's chronicle, Komorowski acquired it from Hungary in 1542, paying eleven blocks of rock salt.
• The high altar of 1724 with a statue of the Immaculate Virgin, and the 1748 pulpit with the word "MARIA" among clouds and putti.
• The Komorowski Chapel with a Renaissance font of 1583 by Maciej Świętek of Kraków and fragments of tombs destroyed in the 1711 fire.
• The Habsburg Chapel, where Archduke Karl Stephan and his wife Maria Theresa are buried, among others.
• Baroque choir stalls from 1708–1725 with reliefs of scenes from the life of Mary and the Passion.

Good to know

In 1924 original cannonballs from the Swedish invasion of the 17th century were set into the third storey of the tower — look for them from outside. Above the west portal is a stone Korczak coat of arms brought from the Old Castle. The chronicler Andrzej Komoniecki himself (d. 1729) lies buried beneath the nave floor, by the entrance to the Komorowski Chapel.

Tripto tips

Allow about an hour for the interior and the tower. According to the parish website, the tower is open daily from May to September, 10:00–18:00, and on Saturdays and Sundays from October to April, 10:00–16:00 (other days by prior arrangement). Entry is every half hour; tickets are sold at the "Przystań" café at ul. Zamkowa 12 and cost PLN 10 (reduced PLN 5, children under 6 free). Visit the church outside service times. The co-cathedral stands between the market square and the Old Castle, so it is easy to combine with the castle and the Habsburg park.