History

The construction of the first church (most probably a chapel) is dated as of the late 11th century (it was certified in 1320). Another wooden church already existed around the mid-14th century. The most probably subsequent one, located close to the Vistula, was consecrated in the years 1555 and 1557 by the Bishop of Płock, Andrzej Noskowski. The sliding bank of the Vistula caused destruction of the temple in 1726 and triggered a change in the location of a new church (further from the river), erected in 1740. That church was also destroyed during the fire of that engulfed the city in 1773. The present church was built in the years 1779-1786 by design of Samuel Fischer, an architect residing in Gdansk. The new temple was consecrated most probably in 1800 and its patronage was changed from St James to the Holy Trinity, which has remained until this day.

The completion of the construction of the church towers and full fitting of the interior took place only after 1819. In 1837 the towers were additionally extended upwards and the entire church was renovated. In the second half of the 19th century the main altar was remodelled by use of older elements. In 1942 the Nazis closed the temple and changed it into a granary. Subsequent renovations took place in: 1946, 1978-1979, when full-scale refurbishment of the temple took place (new, copper roof cladding was installed and the interior was modernised). In 1998 three new bells were hung in the church bell towers.

Description

The church is situated in the central part of the city, behind a tall, masonry fence surrounding the church graveyard. Its façade faces Rębowska Street, while the chancel faces the west. In the area of the church graveyard (with no surviving tombstones), in the north-eastern corner of the plot, there is a narrow-front chapel set on a rectangular floor plan, covered with a gable roof and featuring a wide pediment on the south side.

The church was made of brick, has its walls plastered on both sides, rests on a stone base and features a millstone incorporated into its northern wall. It was designed on a rectangular floor plan, of an aisleless type, with a chancel separated in the interior only by low walls of the sacristy and porch (on a rectangular floor plan). Two towers set on a square floor plan are incorporated into the eastern bay of the church. The dominating nave has a compact body and is covered with a gable roof clad in sheet metal; the towers include tented roofs with convex planes and spheres in finials. The church silhouette is diversified by steep, symmetrical towers of the same height as the nave. The interior was covered with five bays of the double barrel vault resting on arches. The walls are partitioned by tall niches terminating in semi-circular arches. Pilasters supporting the vault volutes are located on pillars adjacent to the walls and separating the niches. The side façades are framed by simplified pilasters supporting profiled cornices.

The interior fixtures and fittings show resemblance mainly to the Late Baroque (the second half of the 18th century) or Baroque Revival (second half of the 19th century). Distinctive objects include: a Late Gothic sculpture of Crucified Christ from the 16th century and painting of St Barbara from around 1700.

The building is accessible to visitors during masses and following previous arrangements with the parish priest in Krajkowo.

Author of the note Jerzy Szałygin, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Regional Branch in Warsaw 07-02-2018

Bibliography

• Gawarecki W.H., Wiadomość o kościele farnym czyli parafialnym pod tytułem Świętej Trójcy w Wyszogrodzie, Pamiętnik Religijno-moralny, IX, Płock 1845.
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol. X., woj. warszawskie, issue 15, Okolice Płocka, (prepared by Galicka I., Sygietyńska H. and Kaczmarzyk D., Warsaw 1992, pp. 104-110).
• Record sheet of monuments of architecture, the so-called white sheet: Wyszogród -kościół p.w. Św. Trójcy, prepared by Anna Lorek, 09.1997, the so-called green record sheet: Kościół p.w. Św. Trójcy, prepared by Świechowska, 1959
• Church of the Holy Trinity, after:  http://www.dioblina.eu/Kosciol_Swietej_Trojcy_Wyszogrod