Church of St. John of Jerusalem Outside the Walls
Encyclopedia
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
in western Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. The original church on this site was built at the end of the 11th century, making it one of the oldest churches within the present boundaries of Poznań.
It stands on the south-eastern corner of the Rondo Śródka roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
, between the neighbourhoods of Śródka and Komandoria, within the city's Nowe Miasto
Poznan-Nowe Miasto
Nowe Miasto is a part of the city of Poznań in western Poland. It was one of the five governmental districts into which the city was divided prior to 1990, and which are retained for certain administrative purposes...
district. It is close to the north-west corner of Lake Malta
Lake Malta
Lake Malta is an artificial lake in Poznań, Poland. It was formed in 1952 as a result of the damming of the Cybina River. It is about 2.2 km long, which makes the lake the biggest man-made lake of the city. The water is 3.1 m deep on average with a maximum about 5 m...
. The epithet "Outside the Walls" refers to the fact that it lay outside Poznań's medieval defensive walls.
The church is dedicated to St. John of Jerusalem (John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
), the patron saint of the Knights Hospitallers, to whom the church belonged until 1832 (and to whom it has now been restored).
History
A church, dedicated to St. Michael, stood on the site near the fork of the roads leading to ŚremSrem
Śrem is a town on the Warta river in central Poland. It has been situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; from 1975 to 1998 it was part of the Poznań Voivodeship...
and Giecz
Giecz
Giecz is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dominowo, within Środa Wielkopolska County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately north of Dominowo, north-east of Środa Wielkopolska, and east of the regional capital Poznań...
at the end of the 11th century. According to Jan Długosz, on 6 May 1170 Duke Mieszko III and the bishop of Poznań set up a pilgrims' hospice there. In 1187 the church and hospice were granted to the Order of the Knights Hospitallers. Around the beginning of the 13th century the Order began construction of a new church, which is essentially the building which survives to this day. It was one of the first brick-built churches in Poland. At some point before 1288 the church was re-dedicated to the Order's patron saint, St. John of Jerusalem (John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
), although the older name was still sometimes used as least until 1360. The Order was also granted land to the east and south of the church, now occupied by the Komandoria district and Lake Malta
Lake Malta
Lake Malta is an artificial lake in Poznań, Poland. It was formed in 1952 as a result of the damming of the Cybina River. It is about 2.2 km long, which makes the lake the biggest man-made lake of the city. The water is 3.1 m deep on average with a maximum about 5 m...
. Both these names are connected with the Hospitallers: komandoria means a commandry
Commandry (feudalism)
Commandry , or commandery , was the smallest division of the European landed estate or manor under the control of a commendator, or commander, of an order of knights...
of that Order, while the island of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
was once the Order's home.
Following fire damage in the late 15th century the church was rebuilt in Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style. Around 1512 an aisle, a tower and a timber ceiling were added. In 1736 a Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
chapel was added on the south side. In 1832 the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n government abolished the Order, and the church became a parish church. During the Second World War it was used for storage, and it was damaged during the Battle of Poznań
Battle of Poznan (1945)
The Battle of Poznań during World War II in 1945 was a massive assault by the Soviet Union's Red Army that had as its objective the elimination of the Nazi German garrison in the stronghold city of Poznań in occupied Poland...
in 1945. It was restored in 1948, with attempts to restore the original Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
architectural style.
In 1992 the church was returned to the Order of Knights Hospitallers (the parish provost is also the chaplain of the Order). The Order has opened an ambulatory care
Ambulatory care
Ambulatory care is a personal health care consultation, treatment or intervention using advanced medical technology or procedures delivered on an outpatient basis Ambulatory care is a personal health care consultation, treatment or intervention using advanced medical technology or procedures...
centre for cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
patients there.
Description of the building
The church has buttressButtress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
ed walls, two nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
s and a pitched roof
Pitched roof
A pitched roof is a roof for which one or more roof surfaces is pitched more than 10 degrees, and alternately a roof with two slopes that meet at a central ridge. Some definitions are even more general, including any roof with a sloping surface or surfaces....
. The tower, only slightly higher than the nave, has an asymmetric roof. The Baroque chapel on the east side (Holy Cross Chapel, kaplica Śwętego Krzyża) has a cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
with a lantern.
The oldest, Romanesque, walls are built in Flemish bond. The Romanesque western portal
Portal (architecture)
Portal is a general term describing an opening in the walls of a building, gate or fortification, and especially a grand entrance to an important structure. Doors, metal gates or portcullis in the opening can be used to control entry or exit. The surface surrounding the opening may be made of...
has two columns: that on the left dates from the 11th century (interestingly it stands "upside down", with its base upwards), while the right-hand column is a reconstruction. Above the portal is a figure of John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. On the same wall is a Romaesque rosetta window. An original Romanesque window can also be seen on the eastern wall of the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
(it became visible after a more modern vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
was demolished). The church is topped with a Maltese cross
Maltese cross
The Maltese cross, also known as the Amalfi cross, is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta and through them came to be identified with the Mediterranean island of Malta and is one of the National symbols of Malta...
.
The remains of an old church cemetery can be found within the walls surrounding the church.
Interior
Both naves have a stellar vault from the late Gothic period. The chancelChancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
has a late Romaesque cruciform vault. The vaults display fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s painted in 1949 by Stanisław Teisseyre.
The chancel has a late Gothic triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
made in a local workshop around 1520, and significantly restored after sustaining damage in the Second World War. It shows the sacra conversazione
Sacra conversazione
In art, a sacra conversazione or sacred conversation is a depiction of the Virgin and Child amidst a group of saints in a relatively informal grouping, as opposed to the more rigid and hierarchical compositions of earlier periods...
between the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
and Saint Stanisław. With the wings closed it shows the matyrdom of St. Stanisław and the beheading of John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist.
Another altar can be found in the aisle. In its centre is a picture of the mourning of Christ, many times repainted.
In Holy Cross Chapel is a Baroque altar from 1737. In its centre is a crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
from the mid-17th century, once standing on the road to Śródka, and regarded as miraculous. It is normally covered by a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At the sides are figures of John the Baptist and St. Stanisław. Beneath the chapel is a crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
in which two Hospitaller commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
s are buried: Michał Stanisław Dąbrowski (died 1740) and Andrzej Marcin Miaskowski (died 1832).
A sandstone font stands in the aisle, dating from 1522. It is decorated with tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
and a picture of the Baptism in the Jordan, made in 1615.
At the western end of the nave is a 19th-century choir, above which is a neo-Gothic organ front made in 1948.