St John the Baptist Parish Church (Fara), Radom

The tower of Radom's parish church rises more than 57 metres and can be seen from many parts of the city, but the best stories are inside. At its 15th-century font the painter Jacek Malczewski was baptised, as was Tytus Chałubiński, the doctor who put Zakopane on the map, and the church itself dates back to King Casimir the Great. St John the Baptist's — known locally as the Fara — stands on ul. Rwańska in the heart of the medieval Casimir Town.

History: from royal foundation to Gothic Revival

Casimir the Great founded New Radom in the mid-14th century and endowed a new parish of St John. The single-nave brick church was built in 1360–1370. In the 15th and 16th centuries chapels were added: the Holy Cross Chapel, the Rosary Chapel funded in 1481 by the burgher Jan Warcab, the Kosnowski Chapel of 1495 and the Baryczka Chapel of 1500. In 1481–1483 Prince Casimir Jagiellon, later a saint, lived in Radom and treated the church as his castle chapel. In 1495 his brother Frederick formally received here the papal bull appointing him cardinal.

In 1630–1633 Jan Kochanowski, a royal standard-bearer (not the Renaissance poet), funded a late Renaissance domed chapel. After damage, the church was restored in 1817–1838 and thoroughly rebuilt in 1908–1909 to a design by Józef Pius Dziekoński. Of the Gothic church, the chancel, the north wall of the nave with the Lady Chapel and the tower, and the Kochanowski Chapel survive.

What to see

• The west portal in sandstone, dated 1909 to mark the consecration of the rebuilt church on 12 December 1909.
• The Kochanowski Chapel — square, with a stucco-decorated dome and an octagonal lantern.
• Wall paintings from 1972 by Professor Wacław Taranczewski, inspired by Gothic interiors.
• The 15th-century font and a plaque commemorating Malczewski's baptism, set into the wall by the side entrance on ul. Rwańska in 2004.
• The churchyard — a former cemetery closed in 1797: a statue of St John of Nepomuk made after 1752, a six-metre column with Christ at the Pillar and six epitaphs set into the walls, the oldest from 1774.

Did you know?

Since 1597, when the surviving registers begin, more than 176,000 people have been baptised here. Wanda Malczewska, a candidate for sainthood, was also baptised in this church. The parish house is the former castle of Casimir the Great, and in the neighbouring parish building the Germans arrested Father Kazimierz Grelewski in January 1941; he was later killed in Dachau and has been beatified.

Tripto tip

This is a working parish church, so see the interior outside Mass times — the parish publishes service times on fara.radom.pl. Allow 30–40 minutes for the church and churchyard. The Fara fits easily into a walk around Casimir Town: the former castle and parish house are right next door. To find the Malczewski plaque, head for the side entrance on Rwańska.