Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Nysa

The Church of Saints Peter and Paul on Bracka Street is considered the finest example of the Baroque in Nysa, a town once nicknamed the "Silesian Rome". Its vaults are covered in illusionistic paintings by the Scheffler brothers from 1730, and drops of molten lead from the fire that swept the town in 1945 can still be seen on the pews. The church was built by the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, an order devoted to guarding Christ's Tomb and relics of the Holy Cross.

History: the order that lost its church

The canons were brought to Nysa from Miechów near Kraków around the turn of the 13th century. In 1346 they built a monastery and hospital in the Old Town, and after the destruction of the Hussite Wars they moved to the Salt Market, where they built the Church of the Holy Cross. In 1622 Bishop Charles of Habsburg took that church from them and handed it to the Jesuits. In exchange the canons received a plot by the town walls with the ruins of a Gothic Franciscan church of St Peter.

Rebuilding began only thanks to Bishop Franz Ludwig von Neuburg. He had special imperial funds at his disposal – compensation for the 122 churches handed over to Protestants under the Convention of Altranstädt of 1706. First the monastery went up in 1708–1713, then the present church in 1720–1727. It was designed by Michał Klein, who came from Hungary, and from 1725 construction was led by Feliks Antoni Hammerschmidt.

What to see

• The vault paintings by the brothers Thomas Christoph and Felix Anton Scheffler, who came from Munich. Every scene is devoted to the glorification of the Holy Cross as the instrument of the Passion and the source of salvation.
• The high altar of 1730, made of multicoloured marble and gilded limewood, with a painting of the apostles Peter and Paul by Philipp Christian Bentum.
• A replica of the Holy Sepulchre, recalling the order's mission.
• Two façades: the west front with two towers topped by onion domes and the canons' double cross, and the calm, almost palatial south front with a portal and balcony.
• A statue of St John of Nepomuk from 1737 in front of the church and the neighbouring Triton Fountain.

Interesting facts

According to the Nysa municipal guide, the dazzling paintings, together with the organ music, were meant to persuade Lutherans to return to the Catholic Church. After secularisation in 1810, the church briefly served as a soap factory, and the monastery became a hospital. From 1949 to 1997 it housed a seminary, and since 1999 the church has been the seat of its own parish. When Nysa burned in 1945, the church survived – only the window panes and frames were destroyed.

Tripto tip

Sit down in a pew and look closely at the wood – the small, hardened drops of lead from 1945 are easy to miss. The ceiling paintings are best seen by daylight, when light streams in through the windows. Allow 20–30 minutes for the interior. The church is close to the Market Square, so it fits easily into a walk around Nysa's Baroque churches.