Holy Spirit Church, Toruń, Poland

Holy Spirit Church was was built in late Baroque style in the mid-18th century by the Protestants, who were dispossessed of St. Mary’s Church as a result of the Tumult of Toruń in 1724. The slender church tower was added in the end of the 19th century. Today the church is a university church affiliated with Nicolaus Copernicus University. The most finest details in the church are the mid-18th century Rococo high altar and the beautiful door with intarsia on the axes of the aisles near the presbytery, depicting Christ’s death and resurrection.

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Religious sites in Poland

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Mikołaj Grajnert (3 years ago)
The Holy Spirit Church is a late-Baroque edifice raised in mid-18th century as an Evangelical church. Its creation is closely connected with the religious unrest in 1724, as a result of which the local Lutherans lost the Church of Blessed Virgin Mary, which they previously owned. Deprived of any place of worship within the Old Town, only in 1754 did they receive a royal permit to build a humble house of prayer which was not to resemble a church in its external appearance. In two years’ time the large church of the Holy Trinity was erected on the site previously occupied by several houses. The architectural design was prepared by Effraim Schroeger, who later gained prominence as the leading architect of Polish Classicism. In accordance with the conditions set for its construction, the church did not have a tower – the one that we can see today was added at the end of the 19th century. The church was used by Protestants until 1945 when it was taken over by the Jesuits and became the so-called academic church frequented by the staff and students of the Nicolaus Copernicu University.

m. ch. (3 years ago)
Cudowne brzmienie organów, miałem okazję podziwiać w trakcie serii koncertów świętojanskich.

bibin chacko (3 years ago)
Beautiful i like it there i reaching then very tired but came inside and rest cool air so feel awesome my drowsiness all most gone a way i think is historical maybe Ok interior design old model that's good I am highly apprising this

Konrad (3 years ago)
Historical church in old town of Toruń

Emilian Kavalski (3 years ago)
a beautiful church in the old town of Torun

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The basilica occupies the site of the great Aljama mosque, built in the late 12th century by the Almohads, the ruling Moorish dynasty, of which the only remaining parts are the Patio de Naranjas, the Puerta del Perdon (on Calle Alemanes, on the north side), and the Giralda (formerly the minaret, now the belltower).

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In 1401, city leaders decided to build a new cathedral to replace the grand mosque that served as the cathedral until then. Construction continued until 1506. The clergy of the parish offered half their stipends to pay for architects, artists, stained glass artisans, masons, carvers, craftsman and labourers and other expenses. Five years after construction ended, in 1511, the crossing lantern, or cimborrio, collapsed and work on the cathedral recommenced. The crossing again collapsed in 1888 due an earthquake, and work on the dome continued until at least 1903.

Architecture

The interior has the longest nave of any cathedral in Spain. The central nave rises to a height of 42 metres. In the main body of the cathedral, the most noticeable features are the great boxlike choir loft, which fills the central portion of the nave, and the vast Gothic retablo of carved scenes from the life of Christ. This altarpiece was the lifetime work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart.

The Capilla Mayor (Great Chapel), dominated by a vast Gothic retablo (altarpiece) comprised of 45 carved scenes from the life of Christ, as well as Santa Maria de la Sede, the cathedral's patron saint. The lifetime's work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart, this is the ultimate masterpiece of the cathedral - the largest and richest altarpiece in the world and one of the finest examples of Gothic woodcarving anywhere.

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