Baroque church of St. Kazimierz on the New Town Square in Warsaw is undergoing renovation. The temple was built in gratitude for the happy return of John III Sobieski after the relief of Vienna. It did not survive the Warsaw Uprising, but was rebuilt in the 1950s. “The stone decoration of the façade is in a very poor technical condition. The works are intended to stop the progressive degradation of the valuable monument,” said the Masovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments.
The subsidy for the renovation amounted to PLN 150,000.
“The Temple of the Sacraments from the 17th century, founded by Maria Casimiera, as a thank you for the happy return of King Jan III Sobieski after the relief of Vienna. It is considered an outstanding work of the Dutch Tylman van Gameren. During the Warsaw Uprising, the church was completely destroyed. In the years 1948-1952 it was rebuilt” – he recalled in the MWKZ announcement. The Dutch architect was brought to Poland by Prince Lubomirski.
As we read on the website of Benedictine Sisters of the Sacrament, the church of St. Kazimierz on the New Town Square in Warsaw is an integral part of the nuns’ monastery.
“The king and queen laid the cornerstone in January 1688. On June 27, the day the nuns brought from France took over the foundation, the church was not yet completed, but it was already possible to celebrate the liturgy and store the Holy Sacrament there,” we read.
Bombardment and death under the rubble
As indicated, the church was destroyed by bombing on August 31, 1944. “Approximately 1,000 civilians, 4 priests and 35 nuns died under the rubble. The bombing on September 1 was a retaliation for the sisters’ unyielding attitude and could only have been intended to completely ruin the monument. The extent of the destruction of the church and monastery is best reflected in photographs from 1945 and later years. The destruction of the team reached 80-90 percent.” – given.
In 1948, the church began to clear the rubble, and at the beginning of 1949, construction work began on the temple.
On January 1, 1952, the first Holy Mass was celebrated. in the rebuilt church.
Main photo source: MWKZ