Kaplica pw. Świętej Anny
Wayside Shrines
Chapel, Stare Miasto district. A chapel is a small place of worship, often beside a cemetery, hospital or a larger church.
History
The chapel stands in the middle of the courtyard of the Helcel Social Care Home in Kleparz, at Helclów Street 2. Anna Helclowa, who died in April 1880, left most of her fortune in her will to a charitable institution for poor Catholics. The neo-Renaissance building was designed by Tomasz Pryliński, who also oversaw its construction, and the foundation stone was laid in August 1886. The chapel was linked to the main building by a passage with a bell tower above it. It was consecrated on 25 July 1890 by Bishop Albin Dunajewski. During the war the German occupiers took over part of the institution and the chapel fell into ruin. After renovation in the early 2000s it was blessed on 10 March 2008 by Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz.
Did you know?
Among those who attended the consecration in 1890 were Jan Matejko and Juliusz Kossak. At the time the chapel had central heating, even though the other rooms were still heated with tiled stoves.