It is considered Poland-first stand-alone, domed chapel serving exclusively religious functions.

History

The chapel was founded by the Grand Marshal of the Crown, Zygmunt Gonzaga Myszkowski, with the assistance of the Pińczów fraternity of St Anna, to commemorate the jubilee year 1600. Erected between ca. 1600 and 1603, presumably according to the design by Santi Gucci, it was consecrated in 1607 by the papal nuncio Claudius Rangoni. According to the inspection records of 1618, the local Pauline brothers served in the chapel. In the 1st half of the 17th century, the building was surrounded by defensive ramparts, integrated into the fortifications of the nearby castle and town. In 1783 the chapel was in such a poor technical condition that it was on the verge of demolishion. In 1829 Stanisław Jelonek, a local hermit, decided to renovate the chapel and sought the assistance of Jan Olrych Szaniecki, the then owner of Pińczów. In 1834 the Commission of the Krakow Voivodeship in Kielce approved the cost estimate and allowed a public collection. In 1851 the donations were enough to finance with renovation of the altar of St Anna carried out by the Pińczów painter Stanisław Zaborowski. The death of S. Jelonek in 1855 stopped the restauration works. They were resumed and completed in the years 1873-1878. Ca. 1878 a new painting of St Anna was purchased for the chapel. In 1903, on the initiative of the Rev. Walentyn Kubicki, the building received the new metal sheet roofing. In the years 1974-1975, the floor was replaced along with the cupola (changed into copper); also the entrance and wooden elements was conserved, and the building was electrified. Between 1993 and 1994, the walls and cupola were reinforced, and a drainage was made around the building.

Description

The castle is situated in the north part of the city, on top of the Monastery Hill, also called St Anna’s Hill. In its vicinity there are the remains of 17th-century fortifications and two stone statues of St Paul and Michael Archangel (19th century.). The Mannerist chapel is a brick structure made of the local dimension limestone called “pińczak". It has a square body, with a cupola on pendentives, with a porch to the west, mirroring the plan and shape of the main building. The interior of the chapel, divided by niches from the east to the west, is enclosed with cornices: on the wall and under the cupola. It is illuminated only by a window in the south wall and the light coming from the windows of the lantern. The body façades, supported by pilaster strips in the corners, are topped by a prominent cornice, supported by volute-shaped consoles. Above them, there is a cupola with a lantern and a metal crucifix in a copper plating. The porch opening to the outside with three arcades (now two are walled up) is covered with a cupola with a stone lantern and an iron cross in a copper plating. Among the modest furnishings and decor, worth noting are four porch portals (ca. 1600-1603, made by an unknown artist from Pińczów) and two paintings placed inside, called, “Anna Samotrzeć” (the 2nd half of the 19th century).

Freely available from outside; the interior accessible after contacting the parish priest of the church of St John the Apostle and Evangelist in Pińczów.

Compiled by Łukasz Piotr Młynarski, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Kielce, 18.07.2014.

Bibliography

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