Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Szczecin

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus stands on Victory Square (plac Zwycięstwa), in the geographical centre of Szczecin, not far from the Baroque Port Gate. Residents of Szczecin call it simply “Serce” (the Heart). It was built in 1913-1919 as a Protestant garrison church, and after the war it was the first active church in the city. Today it is a sanctuary run by the Society of Christ Fathers.

A reinforced-concrete garrison church

The decision to build was taken at the beginning of the 20th century, because the existing garrison church, the Gothic former Franciscan Church of St John the Evangelist, needed urgent repair. The site was chosen outside the medieval walls, on the edge of a former military cemetery and of ground that had been used by the army for drill since the 17th century. The foundation stone was laid in October 1913 (the exact day is sometimes given differently), and construction was completed in 1919.

The idea and the money came from Gustav Toepfer, a promoter of Portland cement, who wanted to show a new method of building. The parish gives the designer as the city councillor Bernard Stahl, while the Wikipedia entry names the architect Adolf Stahl. The church was built in reinforced concrete, regarded as one of the earliest works of this kind in Europe. The heritage register describes the style as Neo-Romanesque, while studies describe it as early modernism with elements of Neo-Baroque and Neo-Romanesque.

What the building looks like

It is a three-aisled church on a rectangular plan with a semicircular chancel. The vault, supported on reinforced-concrete arches, spreads like a tent, and its soft line is repeated by the arches between the aisles and the outlines of the windows. To the south stands a massive bell tower with an S-shaped helm, topped with a cross. Two oval stairwells beside the tower resemble bastions, so the whole mass is reminiscent of a citadel. The tower holds four bells from 1986.

There is little decoration from the time of construction: above the main entrance there is a relief of St George fighting the dragon. Inside stands a Neo-Gothic altar with a scene of the Last Supper, moved in the 1940s from the destroyed Church of St John the Baptist. Above the chancel arch there are modern frescoes, and the pews date from 1919, from the time of the Prussian garrison. Since 1980 the roof has been covered with copper sheet.

After 1945

The church was blessed on 29 June 1945 and consecrated in 1978. In 1959 a chapel of perpetual adoration and a permanent confessors' duty were set up here. In 1998 the church was made a sanctuary, the first under this dedication in Poland. Since the 1960s there has been an academic chaplaincy here. Every year a Christmas nativity scene with live animals and actors is set up in front of the church.

Nearby

Around Victory Square stands the Port Gate, and less than 200 metres further on the Basilica of St John the Baptist. From here you can set off to see the Old Town towards St James' Cathedral.

Practical information

• Location: Victory Square (plac Zwycięstwa) in Szczecin. The parish gives its office address as Bogurodzicy 3.
• The building is entered in the heritage register and is in use as a church, so visits to the interior must respect services. The parish says that at least seven masses are celebrated here every day.
• Mass times and the opening hours of the adoration chapel can be found on the website of the sanctuary.