The Church of St. Anne was first mentioned in 1381 in the deed of donation of Sulislaw I Nawoia of Grodziec. Fire completely destroyed the church in 1407, and it was quickly rebuilt by King WladyslawII Jagiello in the Gothic style. The king also formally attached the church to the Jagiellonian University by giving it the right to nominate the parish priest. In 1428, the choir was reconstructed and enlarged. The Church of St. Anne was raised to the rank of collegiate church by a charter dated October 27, 1535. The Gothic edifice was demolished in 1689 when it proved to be too small to contain the growing cult of John Cantius, the patron saint of Jagiellonian University, who was laid to rest there. Between 1689 and 1705, a new Baroque church was erected, designed by Tylman Gameren, a Polonized Dutchman who was a chief architect in the court of John III Sobieski. The design of the church is  modeled on Sant’Andrea della Valle in Rome. The stucco decoration in the interior of the church is the work of Baldassare Fontana, with the painting assisted by painters and brothers Carlo and Innocente Monti and Karl Dankwart of Nysa. The painting of St Anne in the high altar is the work of Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter, court painter of King John III Sobieski. The Church of St. Anne is one of the leading examples of Polish Baroque architecture.

PHOTOS: Top Three: 1. Baroque interior depicting the plaster work of Baldassare Fontana. 2. Exterior view: baroque architecture c. 1689-1705 of the Church of St. Anne. 3. The high altar of the church with a painting of St. Anne by Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter. Bottom: View of the painting inside the interior dome of the Church of St. Anne.

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                        BACK TO MAP  PAGE