St Michael the Archangel's Church in Gdynia

On the Oksywie heights, on Płk. Stanisława Dąbka Street, stands the small church of St Michael the Archangel – the oldest surviving building in Gdynia and in the whole Tricity. Its story goes back to 1224 and a foundation by Duke Świętopełk II of Gdańsk, and its walls, plaques and churchyard speak both of medieval Pomerania and of the Polish Navy.

History: from Świętopełk to post-war rebuilding

The Oksywie parish was established in 1253 by Wolimir, Bishop of Kuyavia-Pomerania. It covered the Oksywie heights and almost the whole area of today's Gdynia, long before a town existed here. Of the original medieval church only the west wall survives. In the 14th century the church was extended with a polygonal chancel and a north aisle.

During the Swedish wars the church was wrecked and stripped of its furnishings. It was rebuilt in 1687, when it received a new wooden tower with a Baroque cupola. Another restoration followed in 1925–1927; during the Second World War the building was partly damaged twice and was rebuilt soon after the war. The interior layout follows the village parish churches typical of Gdańsk Pomerania in the 13th and 14th centuries.

What to see

The building is modest: a single nave closed by a polygonal chancel, stone-and-brick walls and a dark wooden tower. Inside is a neo-Baroque high altar from 1930, and the walls carry plaques to Blessed Fr Władysław Miegoń, the Navy chaplain who died in Dachau, and to Admirals Józef Unrug and Jerzy Świrski. The tower holds three bells from 1957: Piotr (600 kg), Queen of Poland (420 kg) and Michał (200 kg).

The Small Pantheon of the Polish Navy

Behind the field altar, on the outer wall of the church, are bronze plaques to warships sunk in the Second World War, including Grom, Orzeł, Jastrząb, Kujawiak, Orkan and Dragon. Each gives the place and date of sinking, a line by a Polish poet and the Latin words "Mersis in bello". There are also plaques to the Pinsk and Vistula Flotillas and to Navy officers murdered in the Stalinist period. In 1983 the whole ensemble was consecrated, and since then the church has been known as the Small Pantheon of the Polish Navy.

Did you know?

The Oksywie parish cemetery, spreading below the church, is the oldest burial place in Gdynia. It lies on a slope above the Bay of Puck, with the naval port at its foot. It holds the graves of people who shaped the region's history, including Antoni Abraham. The oldest "military" grave is said to be that of Fr Antoni Muchowski (d. 1915), a veteran of the January Uprising who managed to escape from exile in Siberia.

Tripto tips

Allow about an hour for the exterior and the cemetery, plus time for the plaques inside if the door is open. It is an active parish church, so check with the parish when the interior is open. Oksywie lies a few kilometres north of central Gdynia, and the heights offer views over the bay. Oksywie also has the Navy garrison church of Our Lady of Częstochowa, so the walk can take in a second church linked to the fleet.