Christ the King Church in Świnoujście

Christ the King Church stands in the centre of Świnoujście on Kościelny Square and has its present form from 1788-1792. The surroundings are dominated by the tower with a tall spire, added in 1881. Since 14 February 2022 the church has had the status of the Sanctuary of Christ the King, and since 2008 it has been entered in the heritage register under number A-378.

From a Gothic church to a church with a tower

The first mentions of a church on this site date from 1336, and after 1557 the church passed into Protestant hands. The present building was erected in 1788-1792 on the site of a Gothic structure. It was a modest building without a tower or a distinct style, consecrated in 1792. In 1881, to a design by the then building councillor Schäfer, the church was rebuilt: a tower and an apse were added, the interior was supplemented with details and paintings, the roof was given gables in place of the earlier hipped ends, and the lines of the architecture were emphasised with raw brick against plastered surfaces. The tower was given a spire with a steep needle surrounded by four corner turrets. Wikipedia describes the present church as Neo-Gothic, whereas the heritage register gives the style as “unknown” and indicates brick as the building material.

After the war

During the Second World War the church was partly destroyed and was rebuilt at the end of the 1950s, and it was consecrated as a Roman Catholic church in 1946. A thorough renovation in 1982-1986 changed the interior: the two-storey wooden balconies were replaced with single-storey reinforced-concrete ones, a new coffered ceiling was installed, and the wooden staircase in the tower was replaced with a reinforced-concrete one. In 2001 the floors and stained glass were replaced, and after 2016 the facade was simplified to a smooth one, removing the plaster applied in the 1970s.

Interior and organ

Under the ceiling of the main nave hangs a wooden model of a three-masted ship, a corvette, donated in 1814 by Captain Heins and linked to the time of the Napoleonic wars. In the semicircular chancel stands a large wooden altar in the form of a triptych with the Crucifixion, Our Lady of Sorrows and St John, and figures of St Hedwig and St Otto of Bamberg. The wings of the triptych show scenes from the New Testament. In the side altars are a painting of Jesus the Merciful with St Faustina Kowalska and a copy of the painting of Our Lady of Częstochowa, and the stained glass depicts scenes from the life of Christ. On the choir gallery stands a historic 31-stop Steinmeyer organ of 1927. From mid-May to mid-September, Świnoujście Organ Evenings are held here on Saturday evenings.

Nearby

Right next door, about 300 m from the church, are the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea in Świnoujście and the Sea Fishing Museum. A little further, about a kilometre away, lies the Spa Park.

Practical information

• Address: plac Kościelny 1, Świnoujście, town centre.
• The church is in use as a parish church; check service times and the possibility of visiting with the parish.
• Organ concerts take place in season on Saturday evenings; dates are given by the parish.