Church of St Stanislaus and St Margaret in Janowiec

For several decades of the 16th century, two denominations worshipped side by side in this church: Catholics in the old Gothic part and Calvinists in the new section added by the Firlej family. Only towards the end of the century were arches knocked through between them, creating a single church. The parish church of St Stanislaus and St Margaret stands at the foot of the castle hill in Janowiec on the Vistula, between the main market square and a smaller square where a synagogue, now gone, once stood.

History: two churches in one

The first parish church, probably wooden, stood here in a village then called Serokomla long before 1325. In the mid-14th century it was replaced by a small brick and stone Church of St Margaret, supported financially by Bishop Bodzanta of Kraków – its walls survive in today's Chapel of St Anne. After 1537, when the village became the private town of Janowiec, Piotr Firlej began adding a much larger nave and chancel on the south side. His sons converted to Calvinism, and from 1559 the new part served the Protestants.

After the deaths of Andrzej Firlej (d. 1585) and his wife Barbara Szreńska, the Catholics regained the whole building and joined the two parts. The work probably gathered pace from 1595, when the Catholic Stanisław Tarło became the owner of Janowiec. In 1604 Bishop Bernard Maciejowski re-consecrated the church under the extended dedication to St Stanislaus and St Margaret.

What to see

• The two-tier sandstone tomb of Andrzej Firlej and Barbara Szreńska, made around 1587 in the workshop of Santi Gucci. The Tarło family later appropriated the monument as their own.
• The nave vault, with stucco ribs imitating Gothic ones and the coats of arms Gozdawa, Przegonia and Topór on false bosses.
• The masonry music gallery on three arches with Ionic columns, from 1610–1615.
• The tower and Renaissance gables – the church is a lesser-known example of the so-called Lublin Renaissance, created by builders from the Lake Como area.
• The late Baroque altars – the high altar is attributed to Tylman van Gameren – and a marble lavabo in the sacristy.

Interesting facts

In 1914 artillery fire set the roofs of the nave and tower ablaze; they were provisionally covered with straw and rebuilt only after the war. A fire in 1972 destroyed the painting of the Immaculate Conception from the high altar, which was replaced with a copy. In a closed room beneath the tower, the Gothic portal of the old church's original facade survives.

Tripto tip

The church stands in the centre of the town, surrounded by a churchyard within a stone wall with a 17th-century gate. Allow 20–30 minutes for the interior, ideally just before or after Mass. It combines easily with a visit to Firlej Castle, which towers over Janowiec. In season a ferry runs to Janowiec from Kazimierz Dolny on the opposite bank of the Vistula, so you can see both towns in a single day.