St. Lawrence's Church, Warsaw

St. Lawrence's Church () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

's borough of

Wola Wola () is a district in western Warsaw, Poland. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into a major financial district, featuring various landmarks and some of the tallest offi ...

. A

neoclassicist Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

building, the site is best known as the central point of Polish "Redoubt No. 56" during the 1831 battle for Warsaw. A small wooden church was built here as early as the 14th century. It was first mentioned in writing in a document by

Antipope John XXIII Baldassarre Cossa (died 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope as John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church today regards him as an antipope in opposition to Pope Gregory XII, whom it recognizes as the rightful succ ...

dated 1412. Until the 17th century the church was just a branch of the St. John's Cathedral, and it was not until 1611 that a separate parish was founded in the village of Wielka Wola. During the Deluge the wooden church was destroyed by Swedish forces, but was rebuilt soon afterwards. In 1695 the deacon of Warsaw Reverend Mikołaj Popławski founded a new church in its place, with the money donated by Queen-consort

Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien (, ; 28 June 1641 – 30 January 1716), known also by the diminutive form "Marysieńka", was a French noblewoman who became the queen consort of Poland and grand duchess consort of Lithuania from 1674 ...

. However, after King

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

died, the funds were withdrawn and it was not until 1755 that the construction works were finally finished. The building was designed by Joachim Daniel Jauch. After his death the works were supervised by

Johann Friedrich Knöbel Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

. During the Siege of Warsaw (1794) the area around the church was converted into a rampart for the Polish forces and the church was heavily damaged. Rebuilt in 1807, it was again rededicated in 1811. However, during the Russian siege of Warsaw in 1831 the area was again converted into a fort and the church was again heavily damaged. After the fall of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

the church building was confiscated by Russian authorities. In line with official policy of

Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

, it was converted into an Orthodox church devoted to the Holy Image of

Our Lady of Vladimir The Virgin of Vladimir, also known as Vladimir Mother of God, Our Lady of Vladimir (), is a 12th-century Byzantine icon depicting the Virgin and Child and an early example of the ''Eleusa'' iconographic type. It is one of the most culturally s ...

, the patron-saint of the day Warsaw was captured by the Russians. To commemorate the battle, 12 barrels of Russian artillery were posted on the church walls. Following the

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...

in 1915 the church was returned to the Catholics. In 1923 a new St. Lawrence's parish was created there. During the 1939 siege of Warsaw the church was only lightly damaged. However, during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

the Germans took the church and used it for the mass murder of civilians of Warsaw they had captured during the

Wola massacre The Wola massacre () was the systematic killing of between 40,000 and 50,000 Poles in the Wola neighbourhood of the Polish capital city, Warsaw, by the German Waffen-SS, Ordnungpolizei, Sicherheitdienst and the SS-Sonderregiment Dirlewanger ...

. After that the church was set on fire. It was rebuilt after World War II, and now the church serves a small parish of roughly 1000 members. Most nearby inhabitants are now served by a new Good Shepherd's church (Kościół Dobrego Pasterza) built nearby at Redutowa Street. Roman Catholic churches in Warsaw Wola Christian organizations established in 1923 Neoclassical church buildings in Poland World War II sites in Warsaw Rebuilt churches in Poland Buildings and structures in Poland destroyed during World War II Churches destroyed by arson {{warsaw-stub