Its Rococo furnishings, influenced by Maciej Polejowski’s work in the Sandomierz cathedral and made by the artist’s colleagues and followers, are equally valuable. 

History

In the early Piast period, Trójca was part of the “agglomeration” of Zawichost, defined by Jan Długosz as the capital of the Sandomierz region. It is assumed that the oldest temple was built on the ducal hillfort from the 10th-11th century, early 12th century at the latest. In 1171, it was handed over by Casimir the Just to the Bishop of Krakow, who placed the Archdeacon of Zawichost next to it. Probably in its place (as suggested by Andrzej Tomaszewski), a Romanesque church was erected in the first half of the 13th century, partially preserved to this day. The parish was first recorded in sources in 1325-27, and the church was described in 1470-80 by Jan Długosz. The building was probably too small for the parish and before 1592 a wooden nave was added; mentioned for the last time during a bishop’s visit in 1748. The document also mentions that there were old paintings of the twelve apostles inside. The present appearance of the church was achieved in the second half of the 18th century thanks to the efforts of Fr Jan Ligęza, who built the western part of the building; the solemn consecration of the building was performed by the Bishop of Kamieniec, Wacław Hieronim Sierakowski in the 1780s. In the 1790s uniform Rococo furnishings were added thanks to the efforts of Jacek Kochański, a canon from Sandomierz, made by artists who were known to the founder from their Baroque works carried out in the Sandomierz collegiate church, and who worked with Maciej Polejowski. This works were completed before 1798, when the solemn consecration of the main altar took place. In the 19th century, the church underwent renovation works several times. In 1911 the idea of its extension appeared (it was entrusted to the architect Stefan Szyller), but it was not carried out, probably due to doubts concerning conservation. An important stage in the history of the building was the architectural research carried out by Andrzej Tomaszewski in 1968 and 1971; as a result, Romanesque architectural details and brickwork were uncovered (further works of this nature were carried out in 1992-1993 by Wojciech Koziejowski, as well as in 2011-2014). The furnishings and interior design underwent thorough conservation in 1981-82, 1998-99 and 2011-15 (during the last few years, Romanesque brickwork was uncovered in the interior and fragments of Byzantine polychrome were secured).

Description

The parish church of the Holy Trinity is located on the promontory of a small hill, in the north-western part of the medieval Zawichost agglomeration, in the former village of Trójca, on the route towards Ożarów. From the north and west it is adjacent to building developments, from the east to meadows, and from the south to the area of the rectory. It is situated in the middle of a rectangular area of the former church cemetery, surrounded by a wall, where (next to the main entrance), north-west of the church, there is a wooden 18th century belfry. The oriented one-nave church has a rectangular body (Romanesque in the western part) and a separate Romanesque chancel, closed with a straight wall, adjoined by a two-storey extension with a sacristy on the ground floor, and a treasury on the first floor. Two low, rectangular porches were added to the nave from the west and north. The temple was made of stone, almost entirely plastered (parts of the Romanesque naves and the chancels remain without cladding), and covered with buttresses. Above the nave there is a gable roof with a steeple in the western part. The façades of the buildings are varied, mainly modest; the following elements are distinguished: the western façade with a triangular gable preceded by a porch with a decorative gable and a round arched Romanesque portal in the northeastern part of the nave. The interior of the building is covered with wooden structures in a form referring to barrel vaults with lunettes; this is covered by a painting decoration from the 2nd half of the 19th century. Among the almost uniform, Rococo interior furnishings of the church from the 1890s, the following elements are noteworthy: the main altar from around 1798 with a painting of the Holy Trinity (by Franciszek Smuglewicz), the side altars from the 1790s (attributed to Nowakowski, design based on the side altars of the collegiate church in Sandomierz designed by Maciej Polejowski), music choir, pulpit, baptismal font carving and confessionals, large format paintings of the Twelve Apostles (probably from the Sandomierz collegiate church), connected with the work of Michał Stachowicz, this artist is said to be the author of the painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary with Child in the side altar (re-painted) and numerous stone epitaphs from the 19th and early 20th century.

The monument is open to visitors. The interiors may be explored upon prior arrangement with the parish priest.

Łukasz Piotr Młynarski, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kielce, 29.05.2015. 

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