The interior, once very modest, is currently adapted to its new secular function; on the outside, the main decorative element of the simple body is the stepped western gable.

The site is located in an area designated as a monument of history:

Chełmno – Old Town – recognised as a Monument of History by  way of Ordinance of the President of the Republic of Poland dated 13 April 2005 (Dz. U. [Polish Journal of Laws] No. 64 of 2005, item 568).

History

The chapel was likely built circa mid-14th century, with the interior converted in the 17th and 19th centuries. It provided auxiliary functions to the Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  From the 19th century onwards, the chapel was not used for religious purposes. It underwent full-scare renovation in the years 1936–1938. In 2005, there were renovations to the roof and the attic; in 2013, conservation work, archaeological research and comprehensive renovations of the structure were carried out and the historic chapel was transformed into a multimedia library.

Currently, the fixtures and fittings and interior layout are completely new and adapted to the new function; on the outside, the missing sections of the wall and architectural details were filled in.

Description

The Chapel of St Martin is located in the south-western part of the Chełmno old town complex, in the vicinity of the town walls, next to Primary School No. 2 in Chełmno. Originally, the façade faced Franciszkańska Street, but currently the structure can be accessed from 22 Stycznia Street.

The body of the Gothic oriented aisleless church was built on a rectangular floor plan, covered with a gable roof clad with S-shaped tiles, made of brick laid in the Gothic bond and features pointed-arch window openings with splayed reveals. The interior is covered with a flat ceiling.

The front (west) façade features an impressive portal topped with a pointed arch and flanked by oculi (currently round windows) in the top section and is crowned with a band frieze. The triangular gable is separated from the rest of the structure by a narrow skirt roof and features seven lesenes positioned at an angle and flowing into pinnacles with pyramid-shaped top sections (the middle lesene is cut off at the top); between the lesenes, there are pointed-arch blind windows with chamfered surrounds; the blind windows openings in two middle sections feature attic windows at the bottom, with smaller blind windows at the top; the crowning was altered in the 17th century and its top section terminates in a segmental concave arch topped with a flag with the Wieniawa coat of arms, the beginning of the date 16.. and the letter L.

The east façade originally featured a large pointed-arch window on the axis which flowed into the gable (likely bricked up in the 17th century); the façade is crowned with a stepped gable with pinnacles and two pointed-arch blind windows as well as one double blind window; the top of the gable was cut off and covered with a rectangular top section in the 17th century and topped with two pinnacles, which were restored in the 19th century. The south façade features a bricked up two-stepped pointed-arch portal.

Inside the chapel, there are preserved traces of Gothic paintings with plant motifs visible on the attic level, on the western gable wall, which likely date back to the 15th or 16th century.

Limited access to the site. The building can be viewed from the outside.

Prepared by Marzenna Stocka, National Heritage Board of Poland, Regional Branch in Toruń 20-01-2016

Bibliography

• Chrzanowski T., Kornecki M., Chełmno, 1991, pp. 177-178
• Diecezja toruńska. Historia i teraźniejszość, Stanisław Kardasz (ed.), Vol. 4, Dekanat chełmiński, Toruń 1996, pp. 77-78
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, Vol. XI: Dawne województwo bydgoskie, issue 4: Dawny powiat chełmiński, Tadeusz Chrzanowski and Marian Kornecki (eds.), Warszawa 1976, pp. 53-54