Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Brzeg

Much of the high altar in this church is painted – the columns, cornices and scenes in the chancel are an illusion created by a Jesuit's brush. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Brzeg is a former Jesuit church whose vault and walls are covered with frescoes by Johann (Jan) Kuben, one of the most interesting painters of the Silesian Baroque. It stands a few steps from the Castle of the Silesian Piasts and is a good reason to add half an hour to your visit to the town.

History: a church for the Jesuits

The Jesuits settled in Brzeg in the late 17th century, at a time of Catholic revival in a Silesia that had largely turned Protestant. The church was built between 1734 and 1739 to a design by Joseph Frisch, on the site of a Dominican friary demolished in 1545. It was meant to serve a planned Jesuit college that was never built. It was consecrated in 1746, and in 1819 it became the town's parish church.

The two towers of the façade were added only in 1854–1856. Instead of the onion domes typical of the Baroque, they were given pointed, four-sided roofs, which gives the church a slightly unusual silhouette. The building has been a listed monument since 1949.

What to see inside

The single-nave interior is covered by a barrel vault resting on massive piers with pilasters. Between them are semicircular side chapels, with galleries and balustrades above. Everything is decorated with paintings from 1739–1745 – according to descriptions, as many as 115 scenes of various sizes.

• The vault – the glory of the Holy Cross in the centre, surrounded by scenes from Jesuit missions and figures of saints. Among them are Emperor Constantine the Great and St Helena, linked with the legend of the finding of the True Cross.
• The illusionistic altar in the chancel – Kuben painted the Exaltation of the Cross by Emperor Heraclius and Zacharias, Patriarch of Jerusalem.
• The canopied pulpit to the left of the altar niche.
• The organ above the entrance – begun by Gottfried Riemer and completed by the Walter brothers' firm in 1880–1889. It originally had 30 stops; today it has 28.

Did you know?

• Inside is a Pietà that is actually a puppet – the figure of Mary holding the dead Christ has a movable head and arms.
• In front of the church stand two Baroque statues from 1722, of St Jude Thaddeus and St John of Nepomuk. They are older than the church itself.
• Kuben's frescoes have been the subject of scholarly studies; art historians stress how his painting combines the fervent piety of the age with bold architectural illusion.

Tripto tip

The church is at ul. Pańska 1, close to the castle and the market square. It is an active parish church with no published visiting hours, so your best bet is to go in before or after a service or to contact the parish office. Twenty to thirty minutes is enough for the interior. Stand first under the organ loft and look towards the chancel – that is where the painted architecture of the altar works best. Then move to the middle of the nave to see the vault, and combine your visit with the Castle of the Silesian Piasts.