Churches & monasteries

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Łódź

Over Kościelny Square in Łódź's old town rises the church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary — the temple of the city's oldest parish, for almost five hundred years the only Catholic community in Łódź. The masonry church was built in 1887–1897 to a design by the Warsaw architect Konstanty Wojciechowski.

A factory town builds its church

The construction was financed by the people of Łódź themselves, and a surprisingly large contribution came from Łódź industrialists of different faiths — they covered nearly half of the cost of building and furnishing the temple. The neo-Gothic interior holds 1891 stained glass with scenes of the Assumption and a 37-stop organ brought from Vienna in 1892. From the former wooden church — dismantled and moved to Ogrodowa Street, where it now serves as the church of St. Joseph — comes the venerated image of Our Lady of Łódź.

The crypt of Stanisława Leszczyńska

In the crypt rests the coffin of Stanisława Leszczyńska, a Servant of God. In the church grounds, in turn, survives the stone tombstone of Maciej Wyszyński from 1822 — the only trace of the old-town cemetery and the oldest stone sepulchral monument in Łódź.

Practicalities

The church stands on the rise once called the Church Hills, some fifteen minutes on foot from Piotrkowska Street; the parish belongs to the network of Łódź Lenten station churches.