Collegiate Church of Corpus Christi Biecz

The Corpus Christi Collegiate Church is the hallmark of the city and one of the most precious historical monuments of sacral architecture in Poland. The interior showcases 3 eras: Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque. The oldest part of the church is the chancel, built before 1480. Above it is a rainbow depicting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Inside the church are many valuable historical objects: a 1633 music lectern; a painting famous throughout Europe titled ‘The Descent from the Cross’, painted by artists from Michelangelo's circle – one of three such works in the world; a Gothic scene on a Renaissance altar, depicting the Dormition of the Mother of God and the Coronation of the Mother of God, associated with the Stwosz school; 16th-century pews under the choir and 17th-century pews in the chancel; the chancel polychrome is designed and made by Włodzimierz Tetmajer with the help of an artist from Biecz – Apolinary Kotowicz (Matejko's pupil); statues: an alabaster statue of Mikołaj Ligęza, castellan (kasztelan) and starost of Biecz, and Piotr Sułowski, Biecz metropolitan judge and Member of Parliament; a hanging bronze candle holder from the early Renaissance. The Collegiate Church is also home to one of the largest organs made by Jan Śliwiński, the most prominent organ maker in Galicia. The church also houses the relics of St. Jadwiga. On the southern side, on the retaining wall, there are 13 statues made of Pińczów stone, depicting the Apostles and funded by pilgrims from Hungary and various personages from the Biecz region. Next to the collegiate church is the Kromerówka – the oldest museum building in the Renaissance burgher tenement from 1519, where many historical architectural elements from that era have survived. The permanent exhibitions present the history of the city and the region as well as the rich intellectual and material culture of the residents of Biecz. Biographical expositions dedicated to Marcin Kromer and Wacław Potocki have an important place there.

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