Churches & monasteries

Church of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist in Pilica

Above the market square of Pilica rises the church of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist — a temple with royal connections. It was raised thanks to Jadwiga Melsztyńska, and after her death the care of the foundation was taken over by her daughter, Elżbieta Granowska — daughter of Otto of Pilica and third wife of King Władysław Jagiełło.

The interior unfolds as a panorama of eras. Among the four chapels are: the Baroque chapel of St. Joseph with a barrel vault, stuccowork and late-Baroque wall paintings; the Gothic chapel of St. Anne with cross-ribbed vaulting; the Padniewski funerary chapel with a dome modelled on those of Wawel and a copper painting of Christ healing the sick; and the chapel of Our Lord Jesus with a Baroque altar, Gothic crucifixes and figures of the Virgin, St. John the Evangelist, Veronica and Longinus.

The main altar has a Gothic character and holds an image of the Virgin and Child, crowned by a statue of God the Father, with statues of the temple’s patrons at its sides. The Baroque choir loft of 1884 is the work of Stanisław Swarczyński of Warsaw, decorated with gilded medallions of King David and St. Cecilia. On the north side the sacristy is crowned by an attic with the coats of arms of Pilica’s former owners.

A belfry with three bells comes from the end of the 18th century. The church stands on Partyzantów Street, above the square — best visited outside service times, combined with a stroll through the town.