Church of St. Nicholas in Chrzanów
ul. Mickiewicza 5, 32-500 Chrzanów
Tourist region: Oświęcim i okolice
The present interior of the Chrzanów Church consists mainly of 19th-century altars and paintings, Stations of the Cross, the 17th-century altar of St Stanislaus made of black marble, and stained-glass windows from the last years of Austrian rule, which have exceptional compositional and beautiful colour. Interesting exhibits from the church equipment include a monstrance from the 15th century, an early 17th-century Mass chalice, a Baroque baptismal font made of black Dębnik marble (from before 1748) and a large chandelier with the image of the White Eagle, dating from the inter-war years. An interesting exhibit in the Chrzanów church is a mosaic depicting Madonna and the Child, which was a gift from Pope Leo XIII to Henryk Loewenfeld (1888), who gave the papal gift to the St Nicholas Church in Chrzanów. Beneath the church there are underground crypts where the ashes of the former owners of Chrzanów, Chrzanów court officials and some prominent townspeople are buried. It is mentioned in 16th century documents that a free-standing brick bell tower was erected next to the church. A commemorative plaque was erected on the wall of the belfry in 2003 to commemorate the inhabitants of Chrzanów who fought for a free and independent Poland in the years 1918–1920 and 1939–1989.