Former Augustinian Church of the Assumption in Żagań

In the monastery library in Żagań, two people standing in opposite corners of the room can talk in a whisper while anyone in the middle hears nothing. This is the work of a so-called whispering vault, one of the curiosities of the former Augustinian complex, whose heart is the Gothic Church of the Assumption. Together with the former monastery, the boarding school, the granary and the garden, the whole ensemble has been a national Monument of History, Poland's highest heritage designation, since 2011.

From early church to Gothic hall church

According to old chroniclers, the first church stood here as early as 1183, under Duke Bolesław I the Tall. A firm written record comes from a document of Bishop Tomasz II dated 1272. In the second half of the 14th century the Canons Regular of St Augustine built a three-aisled basilica, and after fires in 1472 and 1486 they rebuilt it as a hall church.

Another major phase came in 1515, when a new tower and a large western gable were added and the nave was raised. After a fire in 1730 the interior was given rich Baroque sculpture and stucco work. From the outside the church still looks Gothic, although the loggia is Renaissance. Silesian Baroque masters including Jan Urbański and Jan Haberle worked on the interior.

Monastery, library and Monument of History

The monastery buildings, which reached their final form in the 18th century, stand on a site where 13th-century castle walls and fragments of an early Gothic abbot's palace were discovered. For centuries the abbey was one of the region's leading religious and academic centres, teaching theology as well as canon and Roman law. Today the monastery building houses the parish presbytery.

The best-known interior is the library, painted by Georg Wilhelm Neunhertz, where rare 16th-century printed books are kept. A decree by President Bronisław Komorowski, signed at the end of February and published in March 2011, declared the whole complex a Monument of History. The stated aim was to preserve one of the most valuable Gothic and Baroque monastic complexes of historic Silesia.

What to look for

• Sarcophagus of Duke Henry IV the Faithful – a carved stone Gothic tomb of the ruler of Głogów and Żagań, who died in Żagań in 1342.
• Choir stalls from 1695 and the 16th-century Holy Trinity altarpiece.
• Museum display in the gallery above the sacristy.
• The whispering vault in the library – an acoustic oddity best tested with a companion.
• The exterior – the mix of stone walls and brick tower is best seen from plac Klasztorny.

Tripto tip

The church stands on plac Klasztorny in Żagań, within the old town walls, sections of which can be seen right next to it. It is a working parish church, so visits are not possible during services. Arrange access to the library and monastery rooms with the parish in advance. Allow about an hour for the church inside and out, and an hour and a half with the library. Combine your visit with the traces of the town's prisoner-of-war camps: Stalag VIIIC, opened in 1939, held around 49,000 soldiers.