It is a rare example of a late Baroque church complex, where the church is closely integrated with the monastery building, which overlaps the chancel axially. 

History 

The town of Józefów was founded on the lands of the village of Kolczyn in 1687 at the initiative of Andrzej Potocki, the Castellan of Krakow and the Field Hetman of the Crown, who brought the Bernardines to the town. In 1691, he founded the first wooden monastery buildings with a small church, which was destroyed by a fire in 1729. The next church buildings, still existing today, were erected in 1730-1743 thanks to the efforts of Andrzej's son – Józef Potocki (after whom the town was named), the Kiev Voivode and the Grand Hetman of the Crown. After the dissolution of the order in 1864, the monastery was used as a clergy house and living quarters for church ancillary staff. It was also temporarily used as a prison and a nursery school. In 1877, the roof of the church was damaged by a fire. The entire building was renovated in 1896-1907. Between 1897-1917, the complex served as the seat of the parish relocated from the nearby village of Rybitwy. In 1915, the church and the monastery were burnt down by the retreating Russian troops. They were rebuilt after 1917 (the restored towers were lower and, unlike the original towers, had no cupolas). The church and the belfry were destroyed again in 1944 and rebuilt after 1945. The belfry was renovated in 1963 and the church in 1975. Another renovation of the church and the belfry was carried out in 1997-1998. Comprehensive repairs and restorations of the entire complex were completed in 2012. 

Description

The monastery complex is situated to the south of the outskirts of the town, on the Vistula embankment. It consists of a church, a monastery, a belfry, perimeter fence with gates and a garden (in the southern part of the complex). The church. Late Baroque style. The chancel facing west. The main body of the church is rectangular, single-nave, two-bay, with two square towers on the sides of the façade and a choir gallery in between. The chancel is narrower and lower than the nave. It is a rectangular and two-bay chancel, integrated with the monastery buildings, which comprise a sacristy in their southern part. The walls of the church are made of plastered bricks. The nave and the chancel are covered with barrel vaults with lunettes supported by arches. The crypts are supported by barrel vaults. The nave and the chancel are topped with gable roofs.

The towers have pavilion roofs covered with sheet metal. The façade has two towers and two storeys, with one-axial central part. The towers are slightly retracted and one-axial too (they are lower than the original towers, destroyed during the war). It is divided by pilasters in the corners and decorated with a cordon cornice and a crowning cornice, continued on the side elevations. In the centre, there is a portal topped with a semi-circular tympanum. On the second storey, there is window opening covered with a segmental arch; the whole is crowned with a semi-circular pediment, at the top of which there is a stone sculpture of St. Anthony with the Child. On the sides, there are statues of Saint Joseph and Saint Francis with Child Jesus. On the ground floor level, the towers have entrance openings in semi-circular recesses. On upper storeys, there are semi-circular window openings, with blind balustrades at the bottom (the recesses in the side walls have a similar form). The side elevations of the nave are divided by pairs of pilasters on two storeys.

Inside, the nave walls are divided by pairs of pilasters, with recesses between them; in the chancel, there are double pilasters which carry the weight of the entablature with a cube cornice. The décor and furnishings were mostly damaged during both world wars. Some of them were reconstructed in the Baroque style (e.g. the main altar).

The monastery (currently a clergy house and flats) is built on a floor plan resembling a horseshoe, which surrounds the two-storey chancel and its basement. The interior has a one-and-a-half-bay layout, with a corridor from the inside and a former refectory in the north-western corner. Brick-walled and plastered rooms on the ground floor and partly on the first storey have cross-barrel vaults. The elevations are divided by single pilasters, topped with a profiled cornice. The lean-to roofs are covered with sheet metal. The belfry is incorporated in the fence of the church cemetery. It was erected on rectangular floor plan and has two storeys. Brick-walled and plastered, it is topped by a gable roof covered with sheet metal. The two spires of the tower are corniced and have a wavy outline. The upper storey incorporates bell openings terminated with a semi-circular arch. The corners are surmounted by pilasters, which support the profiled cornice. The church cemetery and the garden are partially surrounded by a brick fence. In the front section of the fence, there is a three-section representative gate. It resembles the church façade. The middle part of the gate is higher, with the entrance opening framed by semi-columns which support the cornice, topped with a semi-circular abutment. The side parts, connected by volutes, are lower and have conch-shaped recesses on the axes. In the southern section of the fence, there is a husbandry gate with a triangular top.

The heritage site is accessible upon prior arrangement by telephone.

compiled by Bożena Stanek-Lebioda, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch Office in Lublin, 26 September 2017

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, volume VIII: Lubelskie Voivodeship, issue 13: The Poviat (District) of Opole, Warsaw 1962, pp. 2-5.
• Kowalczyk J., Architektura sakralna między Wisłą a Bugiem w okresie późnego baroku, [in:] Kłoczowski J. et al., Dzieje Lubelszczyzny, vol. VI. Między Wschodem a Zachodem, part III, Kultura artystyczna, Lublin 1992, p. 45.
• Kurzątkowski M., Ochrona zabytków w województwie lubelskim w latach 1944-1968, “Rocznik Lubelski”, 1969, pp. 119-146.
• Zabytki architektury i budownictwa w Polsce, vol. 22: Lubelskie Voivodeship, Warsaw 1995, pp. 102-103.
• Priest Zahajkiewicz M. T., Diecezja Lubelska. Informator historyczny i administracyjny, Lublin 1985, pp. 259-260.