Holy Trinity Church in Nowy Korczyn

The façade of the parish church in Nowy Korczyn reads like a book in stone: a three-tier gable with statues of saints, a relief of the Virgin and the coats of arms of the town, Kraków and a bishop. Poland's National Heritage Board (NID) calls the Holy Trinity Church a valuable example of provincial church building from the era of the Vasa kings, blending late Gothic, Mannerism and early Baroque. Inside are a carving from the circle of Veit Stoss and Baroque choir stalls with paintings of Jesuit saints.

History: the parish church of an assembly town

The first church here was probably built before the mid-13th century, when Duke Bolesław the Chaste granted the town its charter in 1258; it is recorded in 1326, and the chronicler Jan Długosz described it as wooden. Nowy Korczyn was an important place at the time, hosting assemblies of the knighthood and the general regional diets (sejmiki) of Lesser Poland. In 1525 King Sigismund the Old endowed a provostry at the church, and in 1585 it was handed to the Jesuits, sparking a dispute with the Kraków Academy.

Before 1608 a fire destroyed the church, apart from the masonry sacristy with the date 1566 on its buttress. Work on the present church began that same year; it was roofed around 1618, and in 1634 the townspeople paid for the vaults and a masonry organ loft. The façade decoration, attributed to the workshop of Sebastiano Fodiga, was completed after 1635. The church was consecrated in 1659 by Bishop Andrzej Trzebicki.

What to see

• The west façade – a gable with statues of Saints Elizabeth, Nicholas and Lawrence, a relief of the Virgin and Child, and cartouches with the arms of Nowy Korczyn, Kraków and Bishop Jakub Zadzik.
• The main portal with an inscription, the date 1634 and the Vasa coat of arms.
• The Garden of Gethsemane (ogrójec) on the east wall of the chancel – a two-part structure with stone arches and balustrades.
• The Chapel of the Lord Jesus (after 1635), with a "marble" Crucifixion altar from about 1640, attributed to Augustin van Oyen.
• The octagonal Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary from 1660–1663, with a lantern and wall paintings from 1870.
• St John of Kęty's Chapel, with a late Gothic relief of the Lamentation of Christ from 1500–1510, linked to the circle of Veit Stoss.
• Baroque choir stalls from the 1660s–1680s with allegorical scenes and Jesuit saints, the high altar of 1692 and an organ by Stanisław Jagodziński from 1912.

Interesting facts

In 1781 lightning damaged the roof, and in 1844 Kazimierz Stronczyński, who documented the monuments of the Kingdom of Poland, warned that the church was in danger of collapse. Repairs in the second half of the 19th century saved it, and in 1889 the present stone bell tower with a gateway replaced the wooden one. The latest major restoration of the walls and façade took place in 2014–2018, so the gable decoration is now easy to read.

Tripto tip

According to NID, the church is accessible and the interior can be visited by arranging it with the parish by phone in advance. Allow 30–45 minutes for the exterior and interior; view the façade from the west and the Gethsemane group from the chancel side. In the same town, see the Gothic St Stanislaus Church of the friary founded in 1257 by Bolesław the Chaste and St Kinga, the ruins of a late 18th-century synagogue, the Długosz House and St Kinga's spring.