Parish Church in Kazimierz Dolny

The white bulk of the parish church closes off Kazimierz Dolny's Market Square like a stage backdrop: both sides of the square were laid out so that their lines meet at the church. The Church of St John the Baptist and St Bartholomew stands on the slope below the castle ruins and inside hides vaults covered with decorative stucco in the Lublin Renaissance style and an organ from 1620, one of the oldest playable instruments in Poland. Admission is free.

History: from Gothic to Lublin Renaissance

The parish was first recorded in 1325, and King Casimir the Great is regarded as the church's founder. The western part, a tower block with a gallery, preserves traces of an even older Romanesque church; the church was enlarged in the 14th century, which is when the Gothic west portal dates from. Town fires in the 1560s and 1580s also damaged the church. The Renaissance rebuilding, completed in 1613, was led by Jakub Balin, an Italian and citizen of Lublin. It produced the distinctive stucco vaults with crosses, stars, hearts and rosettes, ornate gables with obelisks and the small bell turret. This became known as the Lublin Renaissance style, whose model work was later the collegiate church in Zamość.

What to see

• The 1620 organ built by organ-maker Szymon Liliusz, with 35 stops, mechanical action and a Mannerist case. It is still played at concerts and at the Kazimierz Organ Festival.
• The net vault by Jakub Balin, without division into bays and filled with stucco ornament.
• The Górski Chapel of 1625–1629, with a small lantern dome modelled on the Sigismund Chapel at Wawel.
• The Royal (Rosary) Chapel of 1646–1653, a Baroque variation on the same model.
• The Borkowski Chapel of about 1612–1615, founded by Elżbieta Kochanowska of Czarnolas.
• The obelisks on the gables, a symbol of passing time inspired by the obelisk set up in 1586 in front of St Peter's in Rome.

Interesting facts

The church is not oriented east: the shape of the slope means the apse points south-east. The front tower was built in 1521 or 1536 as an almost windowless, thick-walled defensive structure; openings were only cut once its defensive role became unnecessary. From the square by the Reformed Franciscan church you can see how the parish church, the castle and the tower form a stepped composition rising above the town.

Tripto tip

According to the parish visiting rules, the church is open on weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00 in summer and 11:00 to 15:00 in winter, and on Sundays and holidays from 14:00 to 17:00. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing, and visits are suspended during Mass, weddings and funerals and for half an hour before them. The parish occasionally closes the church for conservation work, including the organ restoration, so check the news on its website. The interior takes 20–30 minutes; afterwards climb the path to the Hill of Three Crosses and the castle ruins, where the church looks its best.