A Marian shrine. Among its lavish fittings, there is the most valuable item - a relief tondo, “Madonna with Child Jesus” by A. della Robbia.

History

The church was built at the request of Jan Łaski, archbishop of Gniezno, the Great Chancellor of the Crown in the years 1517-23. Two years after the completion, it became a collegiate church and a collegiate chapter was established. Both Łaski as well as his relatives contributed high amounts for the interior fittings and décor. Architecture historians believe that the collegiate church from Łask was built by the Gdańsk or Vilnius workshop.

In 1749, great fire destroyed significant part of the church. In order to rebuilt it, part of valuable artefacts stored in the church’s treasury had to be sold. During the reconstruction, the interior décor’s was provided with Baroque features, and two Baroque chapels dedicated to the Holy Mother and St Anne were also added to the building. During the First and the Second World War, the church was used as a custody and a temporary camp, and only after the war church services were renewed.

Description

The church is located on a large square in the town centre, near the market square. It is an oriented building erected on a nearly square floor plan. It has three naves and two Baroque chapels. The main body is adjoined from the east by a chancel with a polygonal end section, and from the west two towers, partially embedded in the corners of the building, flank a porch. From the north, the chancel is adjoined by a little treasury, and from the south - by a sacristy. In the section of the front façade and the chapels, the walls are made of plastered brick. The vaults are made of brick. They are of barrel type in the naves, and a groin vault covers the chancel. The original stellar vaults have survived only in the sacristy and the treasury. The wooden roofs are covered with roof tiles, and most of them are of gable type.

The front façade with the main entrance to the church is located on the west. In its central part, there is a shallow two-storey avant-corps with a door opening, topped with a triangular gable, over which there is a relief of the “eye of providence”. The remaining sections of the walls of the porch, slightly receded against the avant-corps, are flanked by two towers covered with Baroque onion-shaped cupolas. Between them, there is a Baroque gable of the front façade. The walls of other façades are made of brick, decorated with two arcaded cornices and a frieze from profiled brick (crossing ogees), with rose windows made of glazed tiles. Signs of numerous modifications and outlines of no longer existing door and window openings are visible. The façades of the Baroque chapels are plastered, decorated with pilasters, profiled cornice, and window and door surrounds.

The interior is partitioned into a wide central nave and narrower side naves. The two-bay chancel is slightly wider than the central nave.

The church’s fittings originate from the 18th century (the time of reconstruction after the fire). It is suspected that the author of the design was Antonio Longhi, an Italian designer. Lavishly decorated altars, pipe organ, and canon choir stalls draw attention of the visitors and the faithful. In the main altar, there is a painting portraying St Michael the Archangel fighting the dragon by M. Castaldi. The most valuable element of the fittings is a Renaissance alabaster relief of the Holy Mother with Child. It is shaped as a tondo, and was created by a Florentine artist, Andrea della Robbia. The work was a present of the pope for Łaski and arrived to Poland in 1515. Among numerous pilgrims, it is famous for grace. Currently, it is placed in the Chapel of the Holy Mother.

In the church’s treasury, there is a small museum with valuable liturgical books.

The church is accessible for the whole year. The interior may be visited upon prior arrangement with the parish priest.

compiled by Anna Michalska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Łódź, 08.09.2014.

Bibliography

• Staszewski K. , Ilustrowany przewodnik po Pabjanicach Łasku i powiecie łaskim, Pabianice 1929 r.
• Łask, dzieje miasta, Łask 1998
• Ruszkowski A., Sieradz i okolice, Sieradz 2000.
• Kwaskowski K, Kolegiata w Łasku, Łask 2000
• Gryglewski P., Vetusta Monumenta, Łódź 2002
• Bania Z., Średniowieczna kolegiata w Łasku [w:] Sztuka Polski Środkowej, Architektura średniowieczna i nowożytna, Łódź 2002
• Guttmejer K. , Barokowa przebudowa kolegiaty w Łasku [w:} Podług nieba i zwyczaju polskiego. Studia z dziejów architektury ,sztuki i kultury ofiarowane A. Miłobędzkiemu, Warszawa 1988