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- Marshal Stanisław Małachowski's High School - former Saint Michael Archangel's Collegiate Church
Marshal Stanisław Małachowski's High School - former Saint Michael Archangel's Collegiate Church
Płock High School - popularly known as ‘Małachowianka’ - is considered to be the oldest school in Poland (if not Europe) and has existed on the same site since the end of the twelfth-century. For the first 400 years of its existence it was a collegiate church, then a Jesuit House and (since the creation of the Commission of National Education) is now a state High School. The institution has shared with the ancient city of Płock the vagaries of history.
The origins of the collegiate church date back to 1150, when Dobiechna (the widow of the palatine Wojsław) founded a church and set up funds for five canons regular. Most probably in 1180 a trivium school was established within the collegiate church, when Bishop Wit translated the canons from Czerwińsk there. Around 1240, Konrad Mazowiecki's son, the Duke Boleslaw, took patronage over it and had a new Romanesque church dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel built in the manner of a court which was most probably the burial place of his wife. It is believed that the prince created his place of residence there. Documentary evidence exists to indicate the existence of a school on this site during this time.
From 1356 the collegiate church served as a parish church for the growing city. It was, along with the nearby Dominican church, the second structure in the city constructed from bricks, but with additional decorations in sandstone imported from Silesia. Despite the damage from the invasions of northern tribes, its tall and sturdy walls still survive. In approximately 1350 the collegiate church was rebuilt in the Gothic style. In the 1570s the tower was built, in which the Holy Cross chapel and chapter house once functioned.
The Jesuits came to Płock in 1611 and took up residence next to the collegiate church and began their educational activities. The high level of teaching and the influx of students led to the increase of its status from a trivium school to quadrivium college. In the years 1675-1682 (next to the church) a new brick building was built, which still exists as a wing of the high school. In 1731 the collegiate church was in decline and subsequently became the property of the Jesuits, but its reconstruction was interrupted by the suppression of the Society of Jesus. The school and its assets were sequestrated by the National Education Commission.
The new multi-disciplined school functioned here in affiliation with the Mazovian unit in Warsaw and the School of the Crown in Cracow (currently the Jagiellonian University). In its coat of arms there were the initials of King Stanislaus Augustus and two sceptres, derived from the emblem of the Jagiellonian University (currently still present in the Małachowianka coat of arms). New ideas, modern teaching methods and the scope of teaching bore fruit long after the loss of independence of Poland. The college was separated off in floors of classrooms with a chapel by the architect Stanisław Zawadzki. After the transformation of the school, the college wing was taken into possession by the Hospital of the Holy Trinity for 52 years.
In 1843 the notable architect Antonio Corazzi, who was the creator of the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, decorated the eighteenth-century façade with lower and side elevations visible from the market with its neo-Classical pilasters. After the Partition of Poland, the school’s activities were controlled by the authorities, first the Prussians and after 1815, the Russians.
Over the centuries both professors and alumni have contributed to the cultural and social life of the region and Poland. The most prominent have been the Jesuit Martyr Saint Andrew Bobola, Maciej Sarbiewski - the poet and preacher to King Władysław IV, Wojciech Szweykowski the first Rector of the University of Warsaw, Kajetan Morykoni director and initiator of the establishment of Płock Scientific Society, Hipolit Gawarecki an outstanding regionalist, Blessed Florentyn Koźminski, Gustaw and Józef Zielińscy, whose outstanding collections formed the basis for the society’s library. In fact, there have been many scholars and politicians of the twentieth-century who attended this venerable institution, including Ignacy Mościcki and Tadeusz Mazowiecki. This long educational tradition is continued by the ‘Marshal Stanisław Małachowski High School’.
In the 60s and 70s the school was extended. Complex architectural research and renovation of its historic buildings were conducted. The thirteenth and fourteenth century relics have been on exhibition since 2012 housed in the school’s own museum.
During 2012 and 2014, thanks to the acquisition of more than 25 million PLN from the funds of the European Regional Development Fund (which is 85% of the total eligible expenditure), the major renovations and revitalization of the historic building of the school have been carried out. The project included a wide range of repair and restoration.
Ongoing preservation work has halted the degradation process of valuable artefacts. The scale of the whole project, within the framework of the current legal conditions and investment, was quite unique in Poland. Reconstruction work took into account (simultaneously) important historical and architectural issues alongside the operational requirements of a modern and highly successful high school. As a result of the revitalisation process, the educational function of the historical buildings of the school has been carefully adapted and integrated into current regulations and standards. At every stage, professional archaeologists, anthropologists and art conservators have been involved. Archaeological research has indicated that the Collegiate Church of St. Michael was one of the earliest Gothic buildings in Poland; the only other example of collegiate architecture being in Silesia.
For the benefit of interested locals and tourists, in the basement of the collegiate church an impressive illuminated trail has been devised - exposing the great structures of the Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and later periods. Outside the building, along the northern and southern façade, trenches allow the exposure of – inter alia – Roman relics in entrance portal with a bas-relief decorating its crouching stone lion at the door of the church and parts of the basement walls from the Romanesque period and the Gothic sacristy. You can also admire panoramic views of the city from the observation platform at the top of the renovated Gothic tower.
In the auditorium of the former College of St. Michael (which once served as the school’s chapel) fragments of the apse have recently been discovered as well as valuable sacred frescos painted in c. 1920, by Władysław Drapiewski, who is also the artist of the striking polychrome frescos in Płock Cathedral.
During the restoration work archaeologists discovered human remains (from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries). Outside the school, a walled ossuary has been built with a concrete sarcophagus covered with granite slabs. In this (collective) tomb are the mortal remains of approximately 600 deceased inhabitants of Płock who were carefully exhumed and reburied following the excavations.
Worthy of note is that Małachowianka is located on the European Brick Gothic Route, which includes Denmark, Germany and Poland.
Contact:
Marshal Stanisław Małachowski High School
Małachowskiego St.1
09-400 Płock
tel. +48 24 366 66 00
fax +48 24 366 36 01
e-mail: malachowianka@op.pl
www.malachowianka.plock.org.pl
The origins of the collegiate church date back to 1150, when Dobiechna (the widow of the palatine Wojsław) founded a church and set up funds for five canons regular. Most probably in 1180 a trivium school was established within the collegiate church, when Bishop Wit translated the canons from Czerwińsk there. Around 1240, Konrad Mazowiecki's son, the Duke Boleslaw, took patronage over it and had a new Romanesque church dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel built in the manner of a court which was most probably the burial place of his wife. It is believed that the prince created his place of residence there. Documentary evidence exists to indicate the existence of a school on this site during this time.
From 1356 the collegiate church served as a parish church for the growing city. It was, along with the nearby Dominican church, the second structure in the city constructed from bricks, but with additional decorations in sandstone imported from Silesia. Despite the damage from the invasions of northern tribes, its tall and sturdy walls still survive. In approximately 1350 the collegiate church was rebuilt in the Gothic style. In the 1570s the tower was built, in which the Holy Cross chapel and chapter house once functioned.
The Jesuits came to Płock in 1611 and took up residence next to the collegiate church and began their educational activities. The high level of teaching and the influx of students led to the increase of its status from a trivium school to quadrivium college. In the years 1675-1682 (next to the church) a new brick building was built, which still exists as a wing of the high school. In 1731 the collegiate church was in decline and subsequently became the property of the Jesuits, but its reconstruction was interrupted by the suppression of the Society of Jesus. The school and its assets were sequestrated by the National Education Commission.
The new multi-disciplined school functioned here in affiliation with the Mazovian unit in Warsaw and the School of the Crown in Cracow (currently the Jagiellonian University). In its coat of arms there were the initials of King Stanislaus Augustus and two sceptres, derived from the emblem of the Jagiellonian University (currently still present in the Małachowianka coat of arms). New ideas, modern teaching methods and the scope of teaching bore fruit long after the loss of independence of Poland. The college was separated off in floors of classrooms with a chapel by the architect Stanisław Zawadzki. After the transformation of the school, the college wing was taken into possession by the Hospital of the Holy Trinity for 52 years.
In 1843 the notable architect Antonio Corazzi, who was the creator of the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, decorated the eighteenth-century façade with lower and side elevations visible from the market with its neo-Classical pilasters. After the Partition of Poland, the school’s activities were controlled by the authorities, first the Prussians and after 1815, the Russians.
Over the centuries both professors and alumni have contributed to the cultural and social life of the region and Poland. The most prominent have been the Jesuit Martyr Saint Andrew Bobola, Maciej Sarbiewski - the poet and preacher to King Władysław IV, Wojciech Szweykowski the first Rector of the University of Warsaw, Kajetan Morykoni director and initiator of the establishment of Płock Scientific Society, Hipolit Gawarecki an outstanding regionalist, Blessed Florentyn Koźminski, Gustaw and Józef Zielińscy, whose outstanding collections formed the basis for the society’s library. In fact, there have been many scholars and politicians of the twentieth-century who attended this venerable institution, including Ignacy Mościcki and Tadeusz Mazowiecki. This long educational tradition is continued by the ‘Marshal Stanisław Małachowski High School’.
In the 60s and 70s the school was extended. Complex architectural research and renovation of its historic buildings were conducted. The thirteenth and fourteenth century relics have been on exhibition since 2012 housed in the school’s own museum.
During 2012 and 2014, thanks to the acquisition of more than 25 million PLN from the funds of the European Regional Development Fund (which is 85% of the total eligible expenditure), the major renovations and revitalization of the historic building of the school have been carried out. The project included a wide range of repair and restoration.
Ongoing preservation work has halted the degradation process of valuable artefacts. The scale of the whole project, within the framework of the current legal conditions and investment, was quite unique in Poland. Reconstruction work took into account (simultaneously) important historical and architectural issues alongside the operational requirements of a modern and highly successful high school. As a result of the revitalisation process, the educational function of the historical buildings of the school has been carefully adapted and integrated into current regulations and standards. At every stage, professional archaeologists, anthropologists and art conservators have been involved. Archaeological research has indicated that the Collegiate Church of St. Michael was one of the earliest Gothic buildings in Poland; the only other example of collegiate architecture being in Silesia.
For the benefit of interested locals and tourists, in the basement of the collegiate church an impressive illuminated trail has been devised - exposing the great structures of the Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and later periods. Outside the building, along the northern and southern façade, trenches allow the exposure of – inter alia – Roman relics in entrance portal with a bas-relief decorating its crouching stone lion at the door of the church and parts of the basement walls from the Romanesque period and the Gothic sacristy. You can also admire panoramic views of the city from the observation platform at the top of the renovated Gothic tower.
In the auditorium of the former College of St. Michael (which once served as the school’s chapel) fragments of the apse have recently been discovered as well as valuable sacred frescos painted in c. 1920, by Władysław Drapiewski, who is also the artist of the striking polychrome frescos in Płock Cathedral.
During the restoration work archaeologists discovered human remains (from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries). Outside the school, a walled ossuary has been built with a concrete sarcophagus covered with granite slabs. In this (collective) tomb are the mortal remains of approximately 600 deceased inhabitants of Płock who were carefully exhumed and reburied following the excavations.
Worthy of note is that Małachowianka is located on the European Brick Gothic Route, which includes Denmark, Germany and Poland.
Contact:
Marshal Stanisław Małachowski High School
Małachowskiego St.1
09-400 Płock
tel. +48 24 366 66 00
fax +48 24 366 36 01
e-mail: malachowianka@op.pl
www.malachowianka.plock.org.pl
