Church of the Holy Family in Szczecin

The Church of the Holy Family on Królowej Korony Polskiej Street in Szczecin is a modernist concrete church built in 1929-1931 for an Evangelical parish. At that time it was dedicated to the Holy Cross. It was designed by the Szczecin architect Adolf Thesmacher, and the building is entered in the heritage register.

Form and interior

The church is 34 m long and 18.5 m wide, and its tower measures 21 m. The interior has a single nave, finished in bare concrete, with floors of marble slabs. According to the Wikipedia entry, the church can hold up to 2000 people. A theatre hall was built together with the church, and today it serves as an additional chapel.

Behind the organ is a rose window with its original, bright glazing, which casts coloured reflections across the nave. The high altar from the 1950s was designed by S. Raciborski of Szczecin. It takes the form of a marble obelisk with a sculpture of a pelican and an image of the Last Supper.

A sculpture of Christ from the cemetery

In the porch stands a sculpture of Christ that was originally part of the tomb of the Dewitz family at the Szczecin Central Cemetery. It is a copy, made around 1910, of a work by Bertel Thorvaldsen, the original of which is in the Potocki Chapel on Wawel Hill. In front of the church is an ornamental plaque with the Jasna Góra Vows of 1956.

From the Church of the Holy Cross to the parish of the Holy Family

The foundation stone was laid on 23 June 1929, and the Evangelicals consecrated the church on 23 November 1931. In 1945, during military operations, the church was bombed and burnt. After the war it was rebuilt and for some time used as a hospital. The former Evangelical church was consecrated on 22 July 1945, and the Catholic parish that was formed was given the dedication of the Holy Family, because of the pre-war location of a parish of that name.

In the first years after the war the authorities took part of the building away from the parish. Since 1972 the Szczecin-Kamień Episcopal Curia has had its offices in the parish rooms, and after 1980 the previously confiscated building was recovered to provide additional rooms for the curia. Nearby is the first baby hatch in Szczecin.

Nearby

The church stands not far from the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic.

About two hundred metres from the church lies Jasne Błonia (the Bright Meadows).

Practical information

• Address: Królowej Korony Polskiej Street, Szczecin.
• Opening hours of the church outside services are set by the parish. Check them before your visit.
• The sculpture of Christ and the plaque with the Jasna Góra Vows can be seen in the porch and in front of the entrance.