It is one of the oldest heritage sites in the town, although it has lost its original stylistic features after a general reconstruction.

History

The Church of the Holy Spirit was built around 1374. Funds for its construction were donated by Mikołaj Paczotka, a burgher from Rawa Mazowiecka. The church was placed under the care of the Benedictines of Płock. A hospital was built next to the church.

At the beginning of the 19th century, a large group of Lutherans (mainly weavers) settled in Rawa and in its vicinity. The parish council requested the authorities of the town to allow the Evangelical community to use the ruined building of the Church of the Holy Spirit. The temple was handed over in 1827. In 1829, the ruined church was rebuilt.  A wooden clergy house was erected next to the church. Both buildings were destroyed during the First World War and were renovated in the early 1930s. The additions constructed during the renovation works included a new church tower. The church was destroyed again in a bombing raid in 1945. The renovation works were completed in 1962.

Description

The church is situated in the north-eastern part of Rawa Mazowiecka. The former hospital adjoins it from the west. The southern part of the land plot on which the heritage site is situated has the form of a garden. It is separated from Warszawska Street by a narrow lawn.

The church is oriented, built on a floor plan of an elongated rectangle. Together with the hospital part, it follows an L-shaped floor plan.

The brick church is set on a field-stone foundation. The walls are plastered on both sides. The walls are covered with a gable roof.

The northern elevation serves as the façade. It has seven axes. It is preceded by a four-storey tower with the main entrance. The pointed arch window openings are placed in deep splayed window reveals. Above them, there is a stucco decoration that mirrors the spacing and shape of the openings, as well as small rosettes. The windows are separated by pilasters with Egyptizing capitals. A cornice runs along the wall at the height of the capitals. The whole is crowned with an arcaded cornice. The southern elevation has five axes, with a small porch on the fourth axis. It lacks architectural details. Also this elevation has pointed-arch windows. The eastern elevation has two axes. The window openings are positioned between the buttresses. The top section of the elevation ends with a triangular pediment topped with a cross.

The church has a single-space interior, without a separate chancel. The church porch was placed in the tower.

The church can be viewed from outside. Tours inside are possible upon prior arrangement with the parish priest and before and after church services held every month on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sunday.

Compiled by Anna Michalska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź.5 March 2020

Bibliography

• Katalog zabytków architektury, województwo skierniewickie, Warszawa 1996
• Katalog zabytków sztuki, woj. łódzkie, Warszawa 1954
• Kieszkowski W., Zabytki sztuki w Polsce, inwentarz topograficzny, powiat rawsko- mazowiecki, Warszawa 1939
• Kubiak J., Rawa Mazowiecka, program konserwatorski [in:] Ochrona Zabytków, Warszawa 1980, no. 1
• Powiat rawski, zarys dziejów do końca 1973 r., edited by S. M. Zajączkowski, Łódź 1975