The architecture of the complex preserved in its original form presents a type of residential complex that fits very well into the historic landscape of the city.

History of the structure

The post-hospital complex with the St. Lazarus chapel, built in the years 1787-1789, founded by the abbot Father Michał Kosmowski. The architecture of the complex represents a type of Baroque residential complex. According to an inscription on a plaque in the pedestal of a late Baroque statue of St. Michael the Archangel, which until World War II stood in the middle of the cemetery next to the hospital, the builder was Józef Letzelberg, the town’s mayor and “the architect of the local monastery”. The hospital was built for orphans and the elderly, who were cared for by the Brotherhood of Mercy. Young people studying at the College also lived here. After 1945 the chapel served as an auxiliary church (not consecrated at that time), in the pavilions there was a kindergarten, from 1952 part of the buildings was occupied by the Basic School of Agricultural Mechanization. Since the 1980s the chapel has not been used for its intended purpose. The altar was moved to the pre-funeral chapel. In 1997, the complex was taken over by the Trzemeszno Municipal and Commune Office. Currently, there is a Community Self-Help Home here. The building was renovated in the years 1953 and 1968-70 and after 2010.

Description of the structure

The post-hospital complex is located in the former suburb of St. Michael. The entrance leads from Św. Michała Street. On the southern side there is a former municipal cemetery, used until 1820, on the western side - a garden, and on the northern side - a farmyard. The complex consists of three buildings, the main building and two side pavilions situated around a front courtyard separated from the street by a fence. The main building is set on the plan of an elongated rectangle with a tripartite interior layout and a chapel located in the centre, which forms prominent avant-corpses in both elevations. The two side pavilions are square-shaped in plan, with symmetrically arranged interiors, with hallways located in the axes of the building and four rooms in a two-bay layout on the sides. In the northern pavilion, there is a descent from the hall to the barrel vaulted cellars, from where there is an exit to the courtyard. The main building is made of brick, plastered, one-storey, covered with a steep hipped roof, in the part over the chapel with a transverse ridge, and above it a square turret topped with a lantern with a cross. The one-storey side pavilions are covered with mansard roofs. The one-axis elevation of the chapel is topped with a half-gable ending in a banded frieze that turns into a circular panel intended for a clock face. The rounded corners of the wall are embraced by pilasters in the giant order supporting the under eaves cornice. In the centre of the elevation above the main entrance is a four-light window opening with a wooden crucifix in the middle. The front elevations of the residential parts of the main building are four-axis, with doors located in the extreme axes. In the rear elevation, there is an avant-corps of the chapel with two high, semicircular windows. The elevations of the two side pavilions are highlighted with a narrow plinth and an eaves cornice. The aisleless interior of the chapel, with corners rounded on one side, is vaulted with a cradle on the arches flowing onto the wall pillars. In the side walls, bricked-up passages to the residential parts of the building are visible. From the original furnishings of the chapel, a wooden choir gallery has survived.

Visitor access. The site is accessible to the general public.

Author of th note. Radomiła Banach, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Poznań, 14.12.2017

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, Vol. XI z.10, Mogilno, Strzelno, Trzemeszno i Okolice, developed by Z. Białłowicz-Krygierowa, Warsaw 1982, pp. 107-108.
• Z. Białłowicz-Krygierowa, Zabytki Mogilna, Trzemeszna, Strzelna i okolic od gotyku do baroku. Studia z dziejów ziemi mogileńskiej, Poznań 1978, pp. 317-431
• Dzieje Trzemeszna, collective work edited by Cz. Łuczak, WBP Poznań 2002, pp. 76-77,322