Church of St. John the Baptist in Zawichost

Zawichost, which in the 10th and 11th centuries could boldly compete with Sandomierz, today is a quiet town, picturesquely situated on the Vistula embankment. Its history is a series of ups, downs and puzzles that have not been unequivocally solved to this day.

Perhaps Zawichost became a victim of its own success - as many as 3 churches existed here in the 12th century. Even this fact alone proves that it was in the center of attention of wealthy founders and ... enemies who repeatedly invaded and destroyed the city. A witness of these tragic events is the church of st. John the Baptist. The temple standing in this place has been consecrated in its history (and therefore consecrated after rebuildings) as many as 7 times! The beginnings of the Franciscan formation orders in Zawichost are in the darkness of history.

Duke Bolesław the Shy, his mother Grzmisława (who was buried here) and the prince's sister, Salomea, certainly had their share in settling them in this place. It is possible that the latter figure served as the abbess (and therefore the superior) of the Poor Clares imprisoned here. Interestingly, for some time at one monastery church there were two Franciscan orders - a male and a female convent of Poor Clares. Poor Clares left Zawichost in the 13th century. For fear of invasions, they moved to the safer Grodzisk near Skała.

Until the nineteenth century, the Franciscans remained in Zawichost, enduring subsequent invasions - by Tatars, Lithuanians or Swedish troops. After the dissolution, the Franciscans did not return to Zawichost. Currently, the sisters from the congregation of Saint Jadwiga, Queen of the Handmaids of Christ Present have their home here.

The monastery church, which since the 16th century bears the present invocation of St. John the Baptist, was almost completely destroyed in the Soviet bombing of 1944. What you see today is a brick reconstruction of the temple from its early Gothic glory. The main body of the church was built in an early Gothic brick pattern. The bricks are arranged here rhythmically: the side is twice as long (with a trolley) and once with a shorter (head). The buildings are distinguished by plastered chapels. Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of the Scapular standing on the sides of the temple. In the building of the former sacristy on the eastern side you will find a narrow, high-placed Romanesque window, which stands in contrast to the Gothic windows of the main body of the church.

The modest furnishings of the temple reflect the mendicant character of the Franciscan congregation. Pay attention to the presbytery vault. The two eastern bays have a cross-ribbed vault made of bricks and sandstone blocks. The last span, closer to the nave, is a stellar vault, which was built later than the first 2. In the walls of the nave, baroque tombstones stand out from the interior of the church.