Corpus Christi church in Biecz, Gothic church building in Biecz, Poland.
The Corpus Christi Church is a brick structure with two high side aisles, a central nave, and several chapels positioned between external buttresses. The interior features a net vault in the chancel and decorated side aisles that create distinct sections within the building.
The oldest part, the chancel, was completed around 1480, with the date 1482 on the rood beam; the Kingdom of Poland's register of monuments gives 1326 as the start of construction. The nave and aisles were built by 1519, and the eight chapels along the aisles were added between 1521 and 1560. The church's core structure has changed little since, with only towers added and the roof covering altered.
Eight chapels line the side aisles, each founded by a guild or family between 1521 and 1560: the tailors' Kromer chapel, the shoemakers' St Anthony chapel, the joiners' chapel of Our Lady of Candlemas, and the weavers' St Michael chapel on the left; the Bonar, Wielopolski and Ligęza chapel, the Sułowski family and bakers' St John Cantius chapel, the Hübner family and butchers' St Thecla chapel, and the blacksmiths' St Joseph chapel on the right. The St Thecla chapel holds Poland's only star vault with an eye motif.
The church stands in the town panorama of Biecz; the oldest part, the chancel, was finished around 1480, while the nave and aisles date to 1519 and the chapels were added between 1521 and 1560. Look for the date 1482 on the rood beam at the chancel entrance. The chapels sit on a slightly higher level than the aisles and open toward them through pointed arches, so watch your step when moving between them.
The church's musical lectern dates from 1633 and is described in the sources as the only surviving object of its kind in Poland and Europe. It stands by the altar in the chancel, near the 1604 altarpiece whose central painting of the Descent from the Cross is one of three such works in the world.
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