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Holy_Cross_Church photo by Jorge Lascar-

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Holy Cross Church, Warsaw

The Church of the holy cross is a Roman Catholic house church located in Warsaw, Poland.

It鈥檚 located on Krakowski Przdmiescie, which is opposite the main Warsaw University campus.

The Church is the most notable Baroque Churches in Poland鈥檚 capital.

Here are the top 10 Remarkable Facts about Holy Cross Church, Warsaw.

1. The church was designed by the royal architect of Poland

The main building of the church was constructed between 1679 and 1696. The design of the church was made by Jozef Szymon Bellotti, the royal architect at the royal court of Poland.

The church鈥檚 construction was financed by abbot Kazimierz Sczuka and the primate of Poland, Michal Stefan Radziejowski.

The church was constructed fairly modestly and mimicked the Renaissance facades of nearby churches.

2. The church was the origin of the Gorzkie Zale tradition

The holy cross church was originally just a small wooden chapel that was erected as early as the 15^th century. The church was sadly demolished in 1526 and never church was erected.

In 1653, Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga handed the church over to the French order of missionary Friars of Vincent de Paul.

The ownership did not last very long as three years later Warsaw was captured by Swedish armies during the deluge.

The church was found in a state of ruins and beyond help of repair. it wasn鈥檛 until the reign of King John 3 Sobieski, that the church remnants were dealt away with and a new shrine replaced it.

In the 18^th century, the Holy church became the origin of the Gorzkie Zale tradition, also known as bitter lamentations. The bitter lamentation is a catholic devotion that consists of many hymns.

The Hymns consist of songs primarily sung as a reflection and meditation on the passing of Christ and the sorrows of his blessed mother.

The devotion has a three-part cycle, which is further divided into five unique parts. The songs are sung during the lent season, including Palm Sunday. The tradition started at the Holy Church and from there spread to the rest of the world.

3. The Order of St Stanislaw was established at the Holy cross church

Bellotto_Church_of_the_Holy_Cross_in_Warsaw painting by
Bernardo Bellotto –

The Polish king Stanislaw 2 Augustus frequently attended mass at the holy church.

It was at this church that the king first established the Order of St Stanislaw and bestowed it upon loyal servants annually.

The order of St Stanislaw was established on 8^th may 1765, in honor of the Patron of Poland and to reward those who deserved it.

Though it was just a one-class order, it was the highest decoration after the Order of the White Eagle, which was established in 1325.

The companions of the Order of Saint Stanislas were limited to 100 persons at that time and had to prove descent from the nobility for at least five generations.

The first order of St Stanislas and the first 35 champions were created at the church of holy cross, Warsaw.

 4. The protest that sparked the 1863 uprising of Warsaw transpired before the church

The popularity of the church skyrocketed during the Partitions, especially after the 1861 demonstration that took place before the church, sparking the January 1863 Uprising, which was brutally put down by the Russian Cossack troops.

5. The event that ignited the Warsaw pogrom took place in the church

Church of Holy Cross, Warsaw, Poland photo by Marcin Bia艂ek-

On the day of Christmas 1881, an outbreak of panic arose as a result of a false alarm of fire in the crowded church, which in turn caused the stampede deaths of Twenty-nine persons.

This unfortunate incident found a scapegoat to shoulder the blame, and the Jews were blamed this was the beginning of the Warsaw pogrom than ensued in 1881.

The pogrom was fuelled by a false rumor stating a Jewish pick pocketer had been apprehended in the Holy Church and had raised the alarm as a diversion.

This led to angry mobs attacking Jews and Jewish homes until the Russian police and military intervened, arresting at least 2600 people.

The unfortunate incident saw two Jews dead, twenty-four were hospitalized and many Jewish women were raped.

6. The church was severely damaged by Germans during the Uprising, of 1944

During the 1944 Warsaw uprising, the Holy church was severely damaged. On the 6^th of September 1944, German soldiers detonated two large Goliath track mines in the church.

The explosion leads to the destruction of the Church鈥檚 fa莽ade together with many Baroque Furnishing. Other features that crumbled were the vaulting, the high altar, and side altars.

The uprising of the Polish resistance had infuriated the German leaders, who then decided to destroy the city as retaliation, and by January 1945 the holy church was completely up by the Germans.

7. The church was severally renovated

The holy cross church received several damages from all the historic events that transpired in Warsaw.

In the years between 1945 and 1953, the church was rebuilt in a more simplified architectural form by Zebrowski.

The interior was renovated without the Baroque polychromes and frescos which was the main feature of the original structure. The main altar of the holy cross church was reconstructed between 1960 and 1972.

8. The church has a celebrated cross of Christ bearing his cross

Architectural_Detail_-_Old_Town_-_Warsaw_-_Poland photo by Adam Jones-

In the late 19^th century, the interiors of the church were slightly renovated. In 1889 the external staircase which led to the main entrance was reconstructed, and a Sculpture of Christ bearing his cross by Pius Welonski was added.

The sculpture bears the inscription; 鈥淟ift your hearts鈥�, which was intended to signify to the poles to endure the Russian Partition.

9. The heart of Frederic Chopin was encased at the holy cross church

Pillar_containing_Chopin’s_heart photo by Nihil novi-

In 1882 the church welcomed an urn containing the heart of Fredric Chopin, picked in a jar of alcohol, and then encased it in a stone pillar of the church.

Fredric Chopin was a polish composer and a virtuoso of French-Polish parentage and is considered by many to be one of the greatest masters of Romantic music.

Chopin died in 麻豆APP in 1849 at the age of 39, dreaded being buried alive he asked his body to be cut open before his burial and his heart sent to Warsaw.

Upon his death, his last wish was fulfilled and his heart was cut out, sealed in a crystal jar, and smuggled past the Russian authorities into Poland.

During the times of the 1944 uprising, the occupying German forces were anxious about Chopin鈥檚 status as a polish national icon, and they decided to suppress his musical performance.

His heart was removed from the church for safety purposes and kept at the headquarters of the SS commander Erich Von Dem Bach -Zelewski.

It was not until after the War that his heart was returned to the holy cross church and it was interred in a pillar inscribed with a verse from the book of Matthew: 鈥淔or where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.

10. The church was the resting place of many other renowned artists

The holy cross church not only housed the heart of Chopin but also other prominent figures artists.

Some decades after the heart of Chopin was placed in the church, a similar urn was added with the heart of Wladyslaw Reymont.

In addition to the urns hosting the most prominent artist of Poland, there are also several other epitaphs dedicated to other outstanding poles of the late 19^th century and early 20^th century.

Those figures were the likes of, Julius Slowackki, Jozef Ignacy, Boleslaw Prus, and Wladyslaw Sikorski.