Parish Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Gorzno

Parish Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Gorzno

You are standing in front of a temple where at least 3 earlier churches stood. Gorzno was attacked, plundered, destroyed and consumed by fires (in 1443, 1628 and in 1763) and rebuilt its place of worship many times. It owes its current appearance to work begun in the second half of the 18th century. After work began in 1765, another fire occurred eight years later, with the vicarage and residential houses falling victim to it in addition to the church. The reconstruction was completed in 1812 and the towers were added in the middle of the 19th century.

History : The parish of Gorzno was erected on 1 May 1325 by Bishop Florian, who also entrusted it to the Canons Regular of the Guardians of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, known in Poland as the Holy Sepulchres or Miechowites. The relevant document listed the towns that were to become part of the parish of Gorzno: Górzno with the bishop's castle, Gołkowo, Gołkówko, Osuchowo, Szczutowo, Miesiączkowo, Zdroje, Ruda, Zaborowo and others that were located by the bishop's castle in Górzno. It was also stipulated that if a church was to be established in any of the villages, it would be subordinate to the Miechowites of Górzno. For the endowment of the church, part of the property was donated by Bishop Florian, the alderman of Górzno and the village leader from Szczutowo, Teodoryk. According to one of the documents from 1357, the bishop's castle in Górzno was to serve as a shelter for the reeves and the bishop's servants during enemy attacks.

Presbytery : In the central field of the late 18th-century Rococo main altar is an early 17th-century painting of the crucifixion on a slider, below which (visible at indulgences) is an image of Our Lady and Child, in embroidered cloths from the 1st half of the 17th century and a Rococo frame from the 2nd half of the 18th century. The painting's decoration testifies to the former cult. In the 17th-18th centuries, the painting was considered miraculous. In its surroundings there are numerous votive offerings, among which there are about twenty badges, including numerous engraved ones from the 2nd half of the 17th and early 18th centuries, mostly with an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the oldest badge was offered in 1642).

In addition, on the altar are sculptures of two holy bishops of the Miechowite order and, in the finial, angels with the Arma Christi, in the upper tier a painting with the image of St. Macarius and an unidentified monk from the end of the 18th century, above the gates in rococo medallions images of St. Paul and St. Elizabeth. In the chancel, above the entrance to the sacristy, a painting, a former feretron, depicting the Virgin and Child adored by St Dominic and St Scholastica, above a stained glass window which is a variation on the upper painting in the main altar. On the sides, figures of a knight and St. Macarius; at the bottom, the front façade of the church of Gorzno and the town's coat of arms with a fish. To the right of the presbytery a late Baroque painting of St. Joseph and St. Joachim from the 2nd half of the 18th century, above a stained glass window depicting the risen Jesus Christ coming out of the tomb. In the lower part lie sleeping guards. Both stained glass windows were created at the end of the 20th century, are of aesthetic and artistic value, beautifying the chancel, and functionally create some thermal insulation.

To the right is a Rococo baptismal font from the 2nd half of the 18th century in the shape of an overhanging polygonal font, above it a set of statues with a crucifix and the Virgin Mary, St John and angels. To the left is a Rococo pulpit from the 2nd half of the 18th century with statues of the Evangelists on the parapet (from left: Matthew, Luke, Mark, John) and between them Christ the Saviour.

The left side altar is a Rococo altar from the 2nd half of the 18th century, in the shape of a frame with sculptures of two Mechovite saints, in the upper tier a bas-relief of a St. Bishop and in the coping a representation of God the Father. In the central field is an image of Our Lady of the Scapular; according to tradition, the altarpiece comes from the Dominican church in Chełmno. Rococo-Classicist right side altar from the end of the 18th century with sculptures of King David and Moses and a repainted image of the Mourning in the coping. In the central field is a painting of St Anne with Mary.

Nave : One of the chandeliers is a Renaissance eight-arm bronze spider from the early 17th century. In addition, there are 4 larger statues in the church: St. Joseph and Child, the Burning Heart of Christ, the Immaculate Mother of God and St. Barbara (made in the early 20th century in the eclectic style in Göden, Tyrol, Austria). In addition, contemporary smaller sculptures of St Therese of the Child Jesus, St Anthony, Our Lady of Fatima and St Francis of Assisi. Organ with neo-classical exterior and contemporary instrumentation, built by Wilhelm Sauer, Frankfurt (Oder), 1888, opus 493; instrument: mechanical traction, mechanical conical wind chests, 10 registers, 2 manuals + pedal, bellows. The organ restoration work was carried out in 2018-2019. Under the choir on the right-hand side, two feretrons depicting St Mary Magdalene and St Francis and Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph with Child respectively.

Neo-Gothic pews in the church. Three bells hang in the tower: from 1633-1638, with the Cross of the Holy Sepulchre and the letters ASPGCMP, and with the Pomian coat of arms and the initials of Stanisław Łubieński, Bishop of Płock. In the porch, probably the oldest element of the church's decoration, a granite stoup probably dating from the Middle Ages.

The Gorzno church still hides many secrets, among others in the crypt under the presbytery floor lie the mummified bodies of monks from the 18th to the 19th century.

The massing and architectural details of the interior : The church is characterised by simple Baroque forms. It is oriented, built on a rectangular plan, with a short, straight closed presbytery, to which the sacristy adjoins from the north. The elevations of the body of the church are segmented with pilasters, while in the chancel there are lisens. The western elevation is tripartite, two-storey. Storeys separated from each other by a cornice, and vertical division made by wide, simplified pilasters. Similarly developed side walls of the towers. The central part is slightly protruding from the face of the wall, with a segmental closed entrance, above which an oval medallion with the cross of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and a semicircular closed window can be seen. On the sides there are analogous recesses. The second storey of the recess façade closed segmentally with windows. The central part is topped with a triangular gable with a cast-iron cross of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. On the sides, superstructure tiers of towers with windows in two zones. East elevation of the presbytery - single-axis, two-storey, with a balcony closed with a semicircle in the lower part. Presbytery gable with volutes and slightly protruding central part, in which a niche with an oculus. The finial is topped with a wavy abutment. Side elevations - five-axis, with modest architectural detail. The axes are defined by segmentally closed window openings.

A vestry to the northeast, next to the presbytery, and a side porch to the south, in the eastern part of the body. The church is covered with separate gable roofs for each part (Saxon tile). The roof covering was last replaced in 2013-2014.

The interior of the church has a single nave, covered with cross vaults on the walls (in the nave, the sacristy and above the choir with a lowered arch). In the chancel, corner projections at the vault tracery, in the nave, wall pillars supported by lisens turning into gurtzas. Between the pillars, semicircular arcaded niches with analogous windows. In the eastern wall of the presbytery, a wide, shallow niche closed with a basket.

Source:

1. Publication: "Diocese of Toruń. Historia i teraźniejszość" T.10 Dekanat Lidzbarski, collective work edited by Rev. Stanisław Kardasz, Toruńskie Wydawnictwo Diecezjalne, Toruń 1999;
2. Parish priest Revd Canon Stefan Maliszewski
3. Mateusz Magalski