Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Gryfice

About

The St. Mary's Church (Polish: Kościół Mariacki, German: St. Marienkirche), or formally, Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Gryfice, is a parish church, one of the religious buildings in the city, built from the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries to the end of the 15th century. It is a Gothic sacred building with a polygonal plan and rib and lierne vaults, which was rebuilt (from 1659 to 1668), expanded, and renovated (17th and 19th centuries) over the centuries. Apart from the chancel, the nave, and the tower, it had two additional chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary (now: sacristy) and St. Mary. The church was dedicated in 1498. The sacred object covers an area of 1,108 m2 and a volume of 15,905 m3 (according to other sources: 1,115 m2 and 38,660 m3). On the external elevations, there are metope friezes, mascarons, buttresses adorned with a cross and lily, as well as traceries, which are rare in the architectural decoration of sacred buildings in Western Pomerania. The church has historical furnishings, including a Romanesque baptismal font from the 13th century, a late Gothic triptych from the end of the 15th century, a Baroque main altar, and eighteenth-century...

The parish church is located in the central part of the Old Town, south of Victory Square and separated by the southern row. Its roof faces Kościelna Street. It is situated in the so-called market block from its southern side, at the corner of Niepodległości Street, Kościelna Street, and Wojska Polskiego Street.

The main portal of the church is located on Niepodległości Street, in the western facade of the church tower. Side entrances are located on the southern wall of the nave.

The construction of the St. Mary's Church in Gryfice dates back to the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. The exact start date of the construction of the parish church is not known. Under the date of 1297, there is a written mention of the parson Ludevinus, indicating that the construction of the building was advanced and partially fulfilling its function. The cornerstone was probably laid a few years later, although there are indications that the current church was built on the site of the former wooden one. This is associated with the granting of city rights [ pl ] in 1262 and the construction of the town on the left bank of the Rega river.

Initially, the eastern part of the church was built (now the chancel ), along with the St. Mary's Chapel, which served as a church treasury until 1534 (now the sacristy ). Part of this construction was completed in the early 14th century. The nave, the central part of the current church, was built according to different architectural concepts between 1300 and 1350. Various span walls were used in the construction, with the southern one wider than the northern one. Different profiled jambs were also used. Some scholars suggest that the nave was the first part of the building to be constructed. They base this on a continuous frieze (called metope ) with a floral or vine motif, which is the only one of its kind on the church. The rest of the building is filled with friezes with "blind" tracery.

Several decades later, the church tower was built, probably in the early 15th century. Originally, it was built on a granite foundation, with the upper parts made of brick and the top made of wood. It had a gable roof with a slender pointed spire. The current appearance of the tower's facade and its crowning is the result of later reconstructions after fires in 1496, 1562, 1568, and 1658. The final stage of expansion was the construction of the St. Mary's Chapel ( German : Kapelle der Maria ), located on the northern facade of the nave. Its completion in 1498 marked the end of the temple's construction. In the same year, the church was dedicated by Bishop Martin von Karith [ pl ].

Until 13 December 1534, the church belonged to the Latin Church, and then, as a result of the Reformation, it was taken over by the Lutheran Church. This led to significant neglect of the building, managed by the deacons of that time. Restoration work began in the early 17th century when the library was arranged anew, the organs were repaired, and the tower's crowning was renovated.

On 31 March 1658, a fire destroyed the southern, western, and central parts of the city, including the church, from which only partially load-bearing walls and pillars remained. St. Mary's Chapel survived the fire. Between 1659 and 1668, the reconstruction of the church took place. Load-bearing walls were rebuilt, and the upper parts of the charred pillars were restored. In 1663, the reconstruction of the church tower, which had collapsed, began. A year later, three new cast bells were consecrated and hung, along with an additional one, which was moved from the Stone Gate [ pl ]. In 1667, the interior of the church was restored. The internal elevation was whitewashed, benches in the naves were replaced, a new pulpit and choir stalls were built in the chancel. The church was rebuilt thanks to the foundation of Elector Frederick William and the involvement of the city's residents and the surrounding area.

The main altar was made around 1700. It likely references an earlier altar by Rudolf Stockmann, which was destroyed in a fire. The three-story, three-axis altar measures 12.00 × 4.80 × 0.70 m and is entirely dedicated to the "Passion of Christ". In 1732, new 40-voice organs were installed, made by S. D. Richter, an organ builder from Kołobrzeg. In the second half of the 18th century, a pulpit was built, which is no longer in use today. In the 19th century, major repairs and renovations were carried out, including changes to the tower's crown in 1859. This involved removing the deteriorating Baroque spire with its lantern and installing a new copper one. In 1870, restoration work and reconstruction of damaged architectural elements were carried out. The intention of the architect Konrad Kruhl from Szczecin was to recreate the appearance of the church and incorporate new Neo-Gothic elements, such as new gables for the chancel, St. Mary's Chapel, and the sacristy. Further restoration work was carried out between 1909 and 1910 under the direction of W. Rossow, which included changes to the shape of the vault. Its construction was based on a rib vault. Rib vault supports were also reconstructed on pillars, and new bands were installed on capitals. The interior of the church was covered with new plaster, and the vault keystones were decorated with polychromy. At the same time, movable artifacts, such as the organs with the organ folder, galleries, benches, and paintings, were renovated.

In the 1970s, thermal modernization work was carried out (heating system). The last years of the late 20th and early 21st centuries also saw conservation and renovation projects, including the replacement of the roof covering and the improvement of the aesthetic appearance of the church tower. In 1948, three bells were hung and consecrated: St. Adalbert 's (1,100 kg), St. Stanislaus ' (700 kg), and St. Casimir 's (60 kg). In 1957, the main altar underwent conservation. In 1984, a new clergy house was put into use, built at 17 3-Maja Street. In 1990, a cathedral altar was built according to Roman Falarczyk's design. In 2003, the fencing of the churchyard was changed. On 18 May 2005, a monument to Pope John Paul II was unveiled on the southern facade of the church tower. The 180-centimeter bronze sculpture was placed on a granite boulder according to the design by Alina Sołdyga-Solska.

The church was richly equipped with characteristic elements of medieval churches. From historical sources, it is known that there were 15 altars (including 14 side altars), benches, many valuable items, including richly decorated vessels and liturgical books, several bells, and a church library. Among the most famous church artifacts was an alabaster - marble altar made by Antwerp master Rudolf Stockmann and an early medieval granite baptismal font, which is now located in the church porch. The church is adorned with numerous 18th-century epitaphs (there are over 40 of them), frescoes of biblical figures, and votive offerings (polychrome). Epitaphs are located in the church porch, part of the nave, the chancel, and St. Mary's Chapel. The church was enriched with a valuable 15th-century triptych measuring 1.53 × 1.12 m, which was transferred in the 1960s from the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Górzyca. It now forms an altar in the side nave to the south.

According to preserved sources, 31 vicarages and 7 brotherhoods, which operated at St. Mary's Church, have been confirmed to this day.

From 1945 to 1977, the church was under the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Gryfice [ pl ], which was run by the Society of Christ. On 10 August 1977, the parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Gryfice [ pl ] at St. Mary's Church was erected. From 1945 to 1961, the church was included in the structures of the Nowogard Deanery [ pl ] of the apostolic administration, and from 1961, it belonged to the newly created Gryfice Deanery [ pl ], which was incorporated into the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Szczecin-Kamień on 28 June 1972. The church was entered into the register of monuments of national heritage.

The church (a hall church type) was built in the Gothic style. It was constructed on a polygonal plan measuring 61.95 × 25.75 m. It consists of three main parts: the tower, a three-aisled hall, and the chancel. Additionally, there are the sacristy and the St. Mary's Chapel. The construction materials used for the building include granite, brick, wood, and roof tiles.

The chancel, with three spans, was built on a rectangular plan measuring 19.2 × 10.78 m. The sacristy is located next to it (on the southern side). The nave, also on a rectangular plan, forms a spacious three-aisled and four-span hall with a tied system and dimensions of 27.25 × 23.67 m. On the northern side of the nave, the St. Mary's Chapel was added. The four-story tower (compact bell tower ) situated on a rectangular field (16.27 × 14.65 m) consists of five sections separated by cornices. It was added to the nave with the eastern wall. Its height is 51.5 m. The church tower, which features Renaissance and Baroque elements, is located on the western side of the building. A characteristic feature of the church is the predominance of vertical lines over horizontal ones.

According to K. Szczygieł, the building reached its final shape with a surface area of 1,108 m 2 and a volume of 15,905 m 3. In the publication by A. Dobosiewicz Gryfice na przestrzeni wieków – Gryfice na starej fotografii (English: Gryfice throughout the ages – Gryfice in old photographs ), the surface area and volume data are different. The author provided a surface area of 1,115 m 2 and a volume of 38,660 m 3. Zenon Wyrwiński, in the publication Kościół pw. Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Marii Panny w Gryficach (English: The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Gryfice ), provides different data regarding the surface area of the church. According to him, the building has an area of 1,581 m 2. The difference in surface areas in the first two cases is small, amounting to 7 m 2. Between the first and third: 472 m 2, and between the second and third: 465 m 2. Volume data also differ. The difference in the first two cases is 22,755 m 3. The discrepancies in the data likely arise from measurement, calculation errors, or the reporting of net surface area and volume.

The chancel is oriented with its apex towards Wojska Polskiego Street and its ridge towards Kościelna Street. The eastern part of the church is covered with a gable roof with small dormers. These are square, two-winged, and covered with a tented roof.

The eastern facade features a single pointed arch window with two slopes and three jambs, separated by five bars and filled with a stained glass depicting the image of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. The upper part of the window is filled with a characteristic tracery ( rosette type), typical of architectural decoration in the region. The lower part features a sill above the pulpit cornice. The facade is flanked by two corner five-meter-high buttresses. At the lower part, they contain decorative elements with lower pointed-arch niches (right niche), with one slope and two voussoirs, and a rounded slope (left niche), which also has a blind archivolt. Above the right niche, there is a three-sided bay window, finished at the bottom with a string course. Above, there are friezes with a single slope, surmounted by triangular wimpergs with blind tracery and symbols. The Lily refers to Virgin Mary, and the cross to the Catholic religion. Such decoration of the buttresses is unique in Pomerania.

The gable, resembling a pediment, is separated from the lower part by a string course, with a continuous frieze of blind tracery (white plastered). The fragment between the string course and the frieze (called mutule ) is filled with horizontal rustic profiles, consisting of alternating profiles with a cross-section of a chamfer arranged alternately with different bricks. In the upper part, there are numerous blind windows. The first, lower row consists of seven uniform blind windows separated by a bar with blind tracery and two to three slopes. The second row, located above the string course with a different plastered frieze and blind tracery, contains five blind windows with two to three slopes, two pairs of which are symmetrically arranged relative to the largest central one. The blind windows are plastered white. The wall corners are decorated with pinnacles with tented roofs, and the top of the gable with a ridge ornament – a crocket (cross motif), which refers to the wimpergs.

The north wall of the chancel is pierced with three full windows separated by two bars with two slopes and two buttresses (left window) and one bar with a slope (central and right window). These windows are the only ones in the building with 19th-century stained glass. Above the windows is a cornice, and at the bottom, there is a continuous frieze with blind tracery. The space is filled with a mutule with the same profile as in the previous part of the facade. The windows have pulpit-like sills. The wall is reinforced with three buttresses. Between the second and third buttress, just below the third window, there is a blocked-up pointed-arch portal with three slopes and an irregular double jamb with a blind archivolt, decorated with ornaments in the shape of trefoils, pears, and hollows. It was probably once the main entrance from what is now Wojska Polskiego Street before additional parts of the church were added. The portal is surrounded by a masonry ashlar with two entrances with one slope and a segmental arch. On the south wall, besides the added sacristy, there is one full pointed-arch window, similar in appearance to those on the north side.