The bell tower, standing at the temple with a towerless silhouette, represents an important supplement to the spatial programme of the historical ecclesiastical complex.

History

The first wooden church in Powsin was erected in 1398, while the brick building of the temple was erected in the years 1725-1729, after it was funded by Elżbieta Sieniawska nee Lubomirska. At this towerless church, designed by Józef Fontana “two hanging bells of medium size” were located “at the gate leading to the cemetery.” Around 1850 a new fencing of the church graveyard was built and in the perimeter wall as seen from the church front, a prominent bell tower in the form of a gatehouse was erected. In 1866 the building was not plastered yet. In 1889 the bell tower and the wall were torn down, as it was decided to move the graveyard fence on the side of the road to Wilanów by 2 metres, due to the narrow-gauge railway line planned to be built there. At that time Józef Huss added two low towers to the church building. They were demolished during the last extension of the temple, carried out in the years 1921-1924 according to the design by Józef Pius Dziekoński. The architect proposed a free-standing bell tower, which was erected in 1922 at the back of the church. The parish archives include a record sheet with the architect’s seal, showing the floor plan and a coloured drawing of the feature. This image differs slightly from the present form of the bell tower by a more lavish arrangement of the roof and a more decorative frame of the entrance portal. An initiator of the rearrangement of the church, Rev. Teofil Mierzejewski, was a benefactor of two bells consecrated in 1924 by Bishop Stanisław Gall. The previous bells went missing during World War I. In 1949 the bell tower roof was covered with red roof tiles and a figure of the Holy Mother was located in a niche above the door. At that time three bells were purchased. They were later consecrated by Bishop Zygmunt Choromański. In 1998 a wooden bell suspension structure was replaced with a steel one. It was used for hanging a Six-Hundredth Anniversary Bell, weighing 700 kg, funded due to the anniversary of the parish.

Description

A free-standing Baroque Revival bell tower supplements the functional and spatial programme at the towerless church. It is situated in the south-western corner of a low polygonal fence made of bricks. This low wall encircles the temple and the area of a former graveyard planted with old trees. The building stands outside the fence and one of its walls is incorporated in its course. The brick and plastered building was erected on a square floor plan. It has two tall storeys crowned with a hip säteri roof clad in sheet metal and topped with a crucifix on a sphere. A low quadrangular annex with a door from the front and covered with a gable roof is added to the south-west façade. The building has modest façades framed at the corners with broad pilasters, between which the storeys are partitioned by narrow battens. The ground floor façade is adorned with a pronounced plinth and a cornice curved in the form of a semicircle rises above the lower roof line in the finial. A simple door portal located on the axis leads to the bell tower from the church area. Above, there is a small niche, currently featuring a figure of Sorrowful Christ. Side façades of the lower storey are adorned with centrally located oval window openings. All façades on the upper storey are pierced by rectangular bell openings with shutters, terminating in a semicircle on top.

The structure can be viewed from the outside.

Compiled by Małgorzata Laskowska-Adamowicz, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Regional Branch in Warsaw. 03-04-2017

Bibliography

• Record sheet, Dzwonnica przy kościele św. Elżbiety, Powsin, 1959, Archive of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Warsaw;
• Gutt T. Kraszewski Z. Matyja E., Sześć wieków parafii powsińskiej 1410-2010, (ed). Rev. Jan Świstak, Warsaw-Powsin 2010;
• Łoza S., Architekci i budowniczowie w Polsce, Warsaw 1954;
• Majdowski A., Budownictwo kościelne w twórczości projektowej Józefa Piusa Dziekońskiego (1844-1927), Warsaw 1995;
• Majdowski A., Przekształcenia przestrzenne kościoła w Powsinie k. Warszawy od XVIII do XX stulecia, “Ochrona Zabytków”, 1992, no. 45/4(179), p. 296-323;
• Pietrusiewicz I. , Kościół w Powsinie, “Spotkania z Zabytkami”, 2012, no. 7-8, p. 24-27;
• http://parafia-powsin.pl – accessed 03.04. 2017