History

Soon after the establishment of the charter of Krosno Odrzańskie (1217), the brick church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (currently of St Hedwig) was erected, probably as a three-nave basilica. It is possible that also a tower was built at this first stage. In the 14th and the 15th century, the church was extended and arranged as a Gothic three-nave hall with a short choir terminating in a pentagon. The interior was covered with cross-rib vaults. In the late 15th century, the fittings included numerous altars. There were 19 of them at that time. In the years 1482, 1631, and 1634, the building was damaged by fire, however, after each disaster, it was reconstructed in the previous shape. The Lutherans who took over the church in the first half of the 16th century removed part of the Catholic fittings and added new elements to the church’s décor, such as pipe organ - installed twice, in the 17th and the 18th century. In the church, there was a painting by Łukasz Cranach, hanging in the main altar in 1589. In the early 18th century, the building was re-designed, however the works were delayed after the fire of the church in 1708. At that time, the church was extended and covered with a mansard roof. Single-storey annexes were added to the tower topped with a Baroque tented roof. The church’s interior was covered with a double barrel vault.

Description

The church in Krosno, in its current form, is a stone and brick, three-nave building with a transept, terminating in a pentagonal chancel apse. On the west side, there is a quadrilateral tower topped with a tented roof from 1886, reminiscent in its form of the 18th-century architecture. The body of the church is covered with a mansard roof, and the wings of the transept - with three-slope roofs. The church is illuminated through windows topped with semi-circular arches. The earlier building featured pointed-arch Gothic windows. Today, traces of bricked-up window openings are still visible in the façades. The pointed-arch openings are also present in the upper section of the tower. The façades are enlivened with cornices and pilasters, they are partially rusticated. The main entrance to the church is located in the ground floor of the tower and adorned with a portal comprised of pilasters and a simple entablature. Inside the church, the naves are separated with columns and engaged columns, supporting a double barrel vault. One can find remains of historic décor and fittings here: 18th-century entrance door to the sacristy, door in the sacristy from the 19th century, and closets, dated back to approx. 1800 and the second half of the 19th century; Baroque epitaph of a member of the von Lohenstein family; sculpture group from the first half of the 18th century; Baroque pipe organ casing; neo-Gothic baptismal font; and oil painting Resurrection of Lasarus from the early 20th century. In the tower, there is a bell from 1710. The external walls of the church are adorned with several stone epitaph plaques dating back to the period from the end of the 16th to the 18th century.

The building is accessible all year round.

compiled by Krzysztof Garbacz, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Zielona Góra, 05-03-2015.

Bibliography

• Garbacz K., Przewodnik po zabytkach województwa lubuskiego, t. 1: Powiaty: zielonogórski - świebodziński - krośnieński, Zielona Góra 2014 (wyd. 2), s. 213-214, fot. 102.
• Kowalski S., Miasta Środkowego Nadodrza dawniej. Historia zapisana w zabytkach, Zielona Góra 1994, s. 71-72.
• Kowalski S., Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010, s. 175.