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The parish church of St Martin the Bishop - Zabytek.pl

The parish church of St Martin the Bishop


church Szubin

Address
Szubin

Location
woj. kujawsko-pomorskie, pow. nakielski, gm. Szubin - miasto

An example of a small-town parish church from the Gothic period, having the status of a regional landmark.

History

The origins of the town of Szubin are shrouded in mystery. The location is first mentioned in the 14th century as a property of a local knightly family, with references to the presence of an actual chartered town only dating back to 1458. Nevertheless, it has been concluded that the town was originally established in years 1365-1370 and that its beginnings can be linked to Sędziwój Pałuka who had his primary place of residence there and who wrote of himself as “Sędziwój Pałuka from Szubin”. The local parish is known to have existed before the town itself was chartered. It was most likely established in the 1st half of the 14th century, since the local parish church was accompanied by servient land in the form of the village of Wieszki near Nakło, with the gift of land in favour of the church being confirmed by both King Władysław the Elbow-high and King Casimir the Great. After the town was chartered under German Law, a new parish church was erected alongside the market square, known today as Plac Kościelny (Church Square). Due to the absence of reliable sources, one is unable to conclude whether the town church had originally been a wooden or masonry structure, which also means that the question of whether the existing church of St Martin dates back to the 14th century or whether it was only erected a century later also remains unanswered. If we take into account the brilliant career that Sędziwój Pałuka of Szubin (active in the years 1357-1403) has made for himself as a local official as well as the wealth which inevitably followed (leading, among others, to the construction of the Szubin castle), one may suspect that the former variant is true and that the church dates back to the 14th century. Regardless of the answer to that question, the church endured unchanged until the late 16th and early 17th century, when an impressive Mannerist chapel known as the Jagiellonian Chapel was added to the existing structure. Between the 17th and the 18th century, new vaulted ceilings were constructed in both the nave and sacristy, replacing the former wooden ceilings. In 1840, the church was damaged by fire; it was reconstructed and slightly extended two years later, while the existing Gothic tower was extended upwards in 1862. The church was renovated on a number of occasions, including in 1960.

Description

The church, oriented towards the east, is made of brick arranged in the so-called Gothic bond, featuring an abundant use of overburnt brick in the lower portion of the walls as well as surviving putlock holes in the upper section thereof. Its two-bay chancel features a semi-hexagonal end section. The northern side of its eastern bay is adjoined by a rectangular sacristy with a three-sided apse towards the east, while the western bay of the chancel features a small annex, most likely dating back to the 19th century. A porch, also believed to originate from the 19th century, adjoins the southern side of the western bay of the chancel. The three-bay nave is wider and higher than the chancel. A chapel, designed on a square plan, adjoins the northern side of the middle bay of the nave, while the western façade thereof is adjoined by a tall, square tower. A polygonal porch containing the staircase leading into the organ gallery is positioned in the southern corner between the tower and the nave. The chancel features Gothic cross-rib vaulting. The sacristy comes equipped with a barrel vault with lunettes, while its apse features a vault divided by rectangular ribs into many small cells, dating back to the 14th or the 15th century. The nave features a barrel vault with lunettes, with a double barrel vault being used for the chapel. The chancel arch wall features a pointed rood arch. The apertures connecting the chancel and the sacristy and porch are likewise topped with pointed arches. The chancel and sacristy feature pointed-arch windows, while the windows of the nave are topped with semicircular arches and feature splayed reveals on the inside. The chapel interior is illuminated by round windows. The chapel opens towards the nave with a tall aperture topped with a semi-circular arch. The church walls are reinforced by buttresses. The gable of the eastern wall of the chancel features a rectangular wall dormer at the top, originally designed to accommodate a hoist which was used in the course of construction of the building. The chancel and the nave are separated by a Gothic gable, partially modified at a later date. The western façade features a pair of triangular gable sections flanking the tower in the middle, dating back to 1862 and bearing the hallmarks of the Gothic Revival style. The northern façade of the chapel is crowned with a Mannerist gable from the late 16th/early 17th century, with the walls of the chapel contrasting against the rest of the church due to the presence of a plaster finish. The decorative chapel gable, partitioned with small pilasters and framed with a volute-shaped fractable, is separated from the rest of the façade by a profiled cornice topped with a narrow skirt roof. The roofs of the church are clad with roof tiles; the main body and the chancel feature gable roofs, while the sacristy and southern porch are covered with shed roofs. The western porch features a multi-faceted roof. Two-thirds of the tower structure dates back to the Gothic period, although certain Gothic Revival alterations can also be seen, dating back to 1862, when the tower was also extended upwards. The western entrance features a Gothic Revival portal, although traces of the original entrance outlines can still be seen on its sides. The upper section of the tower features large, archivolt windows topped with semi-circular arches. Further above lies the uppermost storey, slightly narrower than the rest of the tower and bearing the hallmarks of the Romanesque Revival style; this section of the tower is adorned with corner pinnacles and topped with a wooden, octagonal lantern surmounted by a slender spire clad with sheet metal. The interior fixtures and fittings date back mostly to the 20th century. A notable feature of the main altarpiece is the painting of the Virgin Mary with Child; this painting, dating back to the mid-17th century and adorned with a Baroque ornamental crown, remains at the centre of the local Marian worship. In addition, a silver repoussé ornamental robe designed for this painting has also survived, dating back to the first half of the 18th century, with certain additions also being made in the second half of the same century. Other notable moveable artefacts from the period between the 16th and the 19th century include the Late Gothic metal baptismal bowl from the early 16th century, most likely crafted in Nuremberg and adorned with a repoussé Annunciation scene.

The church may be visited inside during church service.

compiled by Lech Łbik, Historical Monument and National Heritage Documentation and Popularisation Department of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Cultural Centre in Bydgoszcz, 03-12-2014.

Bibliography

  • Janiszewska-Mincer B., Mincer F., W okresie staropolskim (XIV w.-1773 r.), [in:] Dzieje Szubina, Biskup M. (ed.), Warsaw - Poznań 1974, pp. 22-23, 25-27.
  • Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, vol. XI: Dawne województwo bydgoskie, issue 14: Szubin i okolice, prepared by Lewicka M. and Szymanowska B., Warsaw 1977, pp. 41-43.

Category: church

Architecture: Gothic

Building material:  brick

Protection: Register of monuments, Monuments records

Inspire id: PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_N_04_BK.125813, PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_E_04_BK.242292