, other name = , image = Bdg kscNSPJ 2 4-2015.jpg , imagealt = Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Bydgoszcz , caption = View of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, from Piastowski Square , coordinates = , location = Bydgoszcz , country = , denomination =

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, founder = , dedication =

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

, dedicated date = June 19th, 1913 , status =

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

, functional status = Active , heritage designation = Nr.601221, Reg.A/746, December 12, 1971 , completed date = 1913 , materials = Brick , architect = Oskar Hoßfeld , architectural type = Neo-Baroque The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a historical

building in downtown Bydgoszcz,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. It stands at 5 Piastowski Square, not far from Śniadecki Street in the city's downtown district ( pl, Śródmieście). The church is registered on the

Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...

Heritage List.

History

The history of the church is associated with the efforts of the Polish community, which, since 1898, strived to obtain the consent of the Prussian authorities to build a new Catholic church in the city. Consent was granted in 1906, under the condition that two Catholic churches would be established: one for Poles ( Holy Trinity Church) and one for Germans (Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). The construction site for the German Catholic church was chosen at Elisabethmarkt, then a city square. The church was built from 1910 to 1913 with funds from the government, papal gift and contributions of German Catholics in Bydgoszcz. The preliminary design of the church was performed in the Department of Civil Engineering Design of Public Works in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in May 1908. The main architect and builder was Oskar Hoßfeld (1848–1915), from

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

. He was at the time considered a specialist in the construction of churches, such as in Poznan, Szczecin and Legnica. During the construction in Bydgoszcz, he was assisted by a city senior official, Mr Herrmann and builder managers, Mr Handke and Mr Asmann. The church was built with

Baroque Revival architecture The Baroque Revival, also known as Neo-Baroque (or Second Empire architecture in France and Wilhelminism in Germany), was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture and architectural sculptur ...

features, including a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

with an

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

, a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

and an internal great domed rotunda. The style of the church refers to Baroque churches in northern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The building was consecrated by the suffragan bishop from

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

, Wilhelm Kloske, on June 19, 1913. Initially, the building was an auxiliary church subordinated to the cathedral parish of Bydgoszcz. Reserved for the use of German Catholics, the church was opened to both communities, German and Polish, on February 17, 1924. Until the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the church was the property of the municipality. In 1921, young organist (1900–1990) was nominated. Despite his blindness, he became a famous composer with studies and recognition from many universities ( Poznan,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

). For his great services to the Church,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

honored him in 1964 with the Medal

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. History The medal was established by Leo XIII o ...

. He lived at 55 Śniadecki Street, where a plaque was unveiled in 2008 in memoriam. In 1924, Cardinal Edmund Dalbor issued a decree related to the creation in Bydgoszcz of five new parishes, including the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The first parish priest in 1925 was , murdered by Nazis in 1939. During World War II, the church did not suffer too much from the ravages of the conflict. The interiors were refurbished from 1982 to 1988, and in 2002, a new façade and an outer illumination were installed.

Characteristics

The church is considered one of the most beautiful

Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

-style churches built in Bydgoszcz at the turn of the 20th century. The church was registered on the

Heritage List Nr.601221 Reg. A/746, on December 10, 1971.

Architectural style

The church follows the Neo-Baroque style, with a plastered façade which distinguishes it from many others built in Bydgoszcz during the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, which are usually adorned with a high-quality ceramic and many architectural details. It has the characteristics of a basilica with a dedicated transept, over which rises the dome. The church has three aisles, with the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

facing north: it has two

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s, and two

sacristies A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

. It can accommodate approximately 2000 believers. There are three main entrances and two side ones. In total, the church is 812 m² large. It is a relatively early example of reinforced concrete structure in the city. The church tower is 48.4 m high, and topped with a bulbous dome carrying with a lantern. Inside the dome, in addition to the bells, a clock tower strikes the hour and the half-an-hour. It was built in 1912 by German company Ed. Korfhage & Soehne Melle, which still exists to this day. The gutters,

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

and

flèche Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire *Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing) The flèche is an aggressive offensive fencing technique used with foil and épée. Background ...

are all copper-plate roofed. The façade is distinguished by its

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s topped with attic-style decoration. The main

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, the chancel and transept sides are ornamented with barrel vaults. The nave floor is covered with red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

, and chancels with

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

slabs.

Architectural details

Rich baroque motifs adorn both church interiors and façade:

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the f ...

s with writings,

volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...

s, flaming vases,

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...

rococo painting Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

ornaments An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...

, and

festoon A festoon (from French ''feston'', Italian ''festone'', from a Late Latin ''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a wreath or garland hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depict ...

s. The portal displays richly decorated stone statues of

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

and

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. The transept boasts columns heaving

balconies A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Maltese balcony is ...

with statues of angels. The frescoes on its vaults and ceilings were made by painter Ernest Fey from Berlin. The two

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

figures on the façade portal were created by Schreiner from Regensburg. The exterior figures are the work of Meyer and Weber from

Wilmersdorf Wilmersdorf (), an inner-city locality of Berlin, lies south-west of the central city. Formerly a borough by itself, Wilmersdorf became part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. History The v ...

. Interior sculptures, such as the

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...

of the

matroneum A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located ...

organ and the four groups of angels in the transept, were created by Frank Vauschutz from

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Prussia, it is best known for Charlottenburg Palace, the ...

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
s

Six altars stand in the church: # The main altar, initially decorated with the image of the Heart of Jesus by Boleslaw Lewański. It was replaced in 1930 by the image of the

, by professor Faczyński; # The altar in the left aisle, with a picture of the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution '' Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by ...

; # The altar in the right aisle, with a picture of Saint Joseph; # The second altar in the right aisle, with a statue of Saint Anthony, by professor Giecewicz in 1924; # The altar in the chapel adjacent to the chancel, where the picture of the Sacred Heart by Boleslaw Lewański has been located since 1930, initially at the main altar; # The altar in the chapel adjoining the left aisle, which initially housed a statue of

Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...

. However, it is now replaced by a stylish Baroque altar by sculptor Skręt from Bydgoszcz, along with an image of

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

by professor Faczyński. A

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...

stands now in the right aisle.

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...
s

In the church tower hangs three steel bells, with a combined weight of more than 5.6t: * The smallest, christened ('Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee'); * The medium, christened ('All for the greater glory of God'); * The largest, christened ('Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on us'). The bells are electrically powered, cast in Bochum in 1912.

Pipe organ

The pipe organ was built in 1912 by Paul Voelkner from Bydgoszcz, as a 28-

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

instrument. In 1942, it has been rebuilt by Josef Goebel from Gdańsk, and increased by one voice. In 1968, tubular bells replaced the original ones. The instrument has two keyboards and one pedal, with a pneumatic tracker (air being forced through a noiseless fan). In April 2012, a major renovation was carried out.

Gallery

File:Bdg kscNSPJ2 02-2014.jpg, View from Śniadecki Street File:Bdg kościółNSPJ a 06-2013.jpg, Detail of the clock tower File:Bdg kościółNSPJ e 06-2013.jpg, Detail of a finial File:Kościół pw.NSPJ w mieście Bydgoszczy.JPG, back view File:Bdg NSPJ 10 01-2014.jpg, One of the main door, with

and

File:Bdg NSPJ 12 01-2014.jpg, One of the facade door File:Bydgoszcz, kościół par. p.w. Najśw. Serca Pana Jezusa - nawa główna sd.JPG, The

File:Bydgoszcz, kościół par. p.w. Najśw. Serca Pana Jezusa - organy.JPG, The pipe organ File:Bydgoszcz-wnętrze kościoła NSPJ.JPG,

Atlant Atlant may refer to: * Atlant (book), the first Slovene-language atlas * Atlant-Soyuz Airlines, a Russian airline * Atlant Moscow Oblast, a Russian professional ice hockey team * The Myasishchev VM-T ''Atlant'', a Russian heavy transport aircraft ...

References

External links

*
Website of the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Bydgoszcz

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Bydgoszcz churches Cultural heritage monuments in Bydgoszcz Sacred Heart Roman Catholic churches completed in 1913 20th-century churches in Poland