Bydgoszcz's oldest remaining church is a truly exquisite example of the so-called Vistulan Gothic style, and is, in a word, breathtaking. Parts of the building date back to middle of the 15th century, and the exterior is worthy of more plaudits than many comparable churches, but what really sets this church apart from the rest is its glorious interior.
Those who've visited St. Mary's Basilica in Kraków will recognise the design instantly, and that's hardly surprising as the amazing colours that cover the walls and ceilings are credited to an original idea by none other than Poland's creative genius Stanisław Wyspiański, although the actual design is believed to have been dreamt up by one of Wyspiański's students, Stefan Cybichowski. Painted between 1922 and 1925 by Henryk Jackowski, the polychrome masterpiece has its roots in the modernist ideas of the Młoda Polska(Young Poland) art movement, who aimed to present a truly Polish vision of the world and who did a truly remarkable job of it here. Unmissable, the combination of Gothic architecture, Baroque altars and outrageous colours simply has to be seen to be believed.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.