Kościół pw. Świętej Trójcy
Churches of Kraków
Church (Roman Catholic), Stare Miasto district. A listed monument (heritage register). Run by: Zakon Szpitalny św. Jana Bożego.
History
The Church of the Holy Trinity on Krakowska Street in Kazimierz was built by the Trinitarians, an order founded to ransom Christian captives from Turkish slavery. In 1688 the Bishop of Kraków, Jan Małachowski, allowed them to settle in Kraków, and they came from Lviv. They were given their property in Kazimierz by Józef Adam Lubowiecki, the starost of Oświęcim. Construction was started in 1741 by Father Grzegorz Karbowski, but after two years it was halted for lack of money. Work resumed in 1751 thanks to the efforts of Father Stanisław Oborski, to a design by Francesco Placidi.
The church is late Baroque, and its façade, modelled on the works of Francesco Borromini, is regarded as one of the most beautiful in Poland. The nave vault is covered with an illusionistic painting by Józef Piltz of Moravia, referring to the history of the Trinitarians. It shows Our Lady surrounded by angels and the ransoming of prisoners by St John of Matha, the founder of the order.
When the Austrians dissolved the order in 1796, the church was turned into a military storehouse. Since 1812 it has belonged to the Brothers Hospitallers, who moved here from the closed Church of St Ursula in the Old Town. In 1991 the original painted side altars were uncovered. Among them stand out the paintings of St Jude Thaddeus and St Cajetan by Tadeusz Kuntze.
Did you know?
The historian Żegota Pauli spent the last 25 years of his life in the Brothers Hospitallers' monastery.