St Lawrence's Church in Koźmin Wielkopolski

The parish Church of Our Lady and St Lawrence on ul. Kościelna in Koźmin Wielkopolski is one of the most richly furnished churches in southern Greater Poland. Its 15th-century Gothic core was given a Baroque dress in the 17th century, and the interior holds works from late Gothic to Rococo. The finest is the late Gothic scene of the Dormition of the Virgin in the high altar.

History: from Gothic to Baroque

The parish was established in 1318. The present brick church was built in the second half of the 15th century by Hińcza of Rogów, then owner of the town – the inventory of Koźmin's monuments gives the year 1462. In the early 17th century a square chapel of the Przyjemski family was added to the chancel. In 1670–1677 the church was thoroughly rebuilt in Baroque style: side aisles and a tower were added and new vaults built, on which stucco decoration of the so-called Lublin-Kalisz type survives.

In the 16th century the town belonged to the Górka family, and in the 17th century it was a well-known centre of the Reformation – in 1561 the Bohemian Brethren opened a printing house here. The tomb of Andrzej Górka and his wife Barbara née Herburt also dates from this era.

What to see inside

• The high altar from before 1635 – three-tiered and carved, with a relief of the Dormition of the Virgin from around 1500–1520, attributed to a Silesian workshop. It is considered the finest group of its kind in Greater Poland.
• A Renaissance sandstone sacrament house (ciborium) from the mid-16th century, covered with foliage ornament.
• The tomb of Andrzej Górka and Barbara née Herburt in sandstone and red marble – the deceased kneel before a crucifix.
• A Crucifixion group on the Gothic rood beam and the stone epitaph of Barbara Winkler, daughter of a Poznań burgher, who died "in the time of the Poznań plague" in 1606.
• The epitaph of Fr Wojciech Dąbrowski with his portrait (1680) above the sacristy door.
• Seven Baroque and Rococo side altars, choir stalls and a pulpit from 1680.
• The Przyjemski Chapel behind a 17th-century wrought-iron grille, with a 15th-century Gothic Madonna.
• Two stone holy water stoups with human masks in the porches of the side aisles.

Tripto tips

• Visiting: this is an active parish church – the interior is easiest to see before or after Mass; outside services it may be closed.
• Time needed: allow 30–45 minutes to take in the furnishings.
• Nearby: also see the market square and Koźmin Castle, whose origins go back to Maciek Borkowic, owner of the town from 1338.
• Getting there: Koźmin lies about 15 km north of Krotoszyn on the road to Jarocin.