St. Bartholomew's Parish Church
The history of the parish church in Płock is strictly related to the history of the town and its inhabitants. The periods of prosperity and declines were reflected both in the condition of the structure and activities performed for the needs of the population. For over 150 years, these functions were performed by the St. Michael Archangel's Collegiate Church.
on 23 April 1356, the consecration was held of a new parish church, erected by bishop Klemens, from the foundation of King Kazimierz the Great. It was a towering Gothic temple with a facade and high top on the side of the Vistula River, and the presbytery turned to the market square. A massive bell tower was adjacent to the wall on the northern side. The interior was divided into two aisles with pillars running in the middle of the church. The shape referred to a group of typical churches founded by the King in the vicinity of Cracow. Professional guilds being created at that time were taking over patronage over the altars they founded . in the 15th century, first chapels from the side of Piekarska Street were built.
In the next century, the temple was already too small for a growing number of inhabitants. Its expansion was conducted under the supervision of Giovanni Batista, one of the builders of the cathedral. The church was extended towards the market square, closed with a many-side, buttressed presbytery of the same width as the aisle. to the facade one-floor vestibule was added, with two turrets on both sides. although outside the church had characteristics of both Gothic and the Renaissance, the interior was of a purely Renaissance character. After disassembly of medieval vaults and pillars, the old and the new part of the temple created a uniform, large space. New barrel vault was supported on side pillars with arcades creating shallow chapels. in the early 17th century, in the church and five adjacent chapels there were more than twenty altars of different guilds, religious fraternities and rich burger families. From the beginning, at the parish church a secondary school operated, which, in the 16th century, was located next to the church, in one-floor brick building, and was attended by about 100 students, children of townsmen and the local nobility. Even in the 19th century, the church run a school in rooms of the liquidated Dominican monastery.
From the 14th century, the area around the church was the place of rest of many generations of the Płock inhabitants until the time when in 1781 a separate cemetery was created, one year older than the Powązki Cemetery. The whole was surrounded by a wall, and in the corner from the market square a bell tower rose, built already in the Middle Ages. owing to a considerable height, the clock and an observation point of the Town Guard were located on it. It was damaged in the great fire of the town in 1616. it was rebuilt in the second half of the 17th.The bell tower demolished in the late 18th century was replaced with a new one no sooner than in 1884.
Even in a vetting from 1678 it is written that "the church had truly royal appearance". However, no funds for refurbishments and movements of the scarp resulted, in the early 18th century, in a construction disaster; the walls cracked and a part of the vaulting tumbled down. After the northern war, the impoverished and depopulated town was not able to bear the burden of reconstruction. in 1731, to save the temple, to the parish church the collegiate church was transferred along with its chapter and funds from the St. Michael's church, which was abandoned for the Jesuits. Additional money obtained from the order enabled beginning of the reconstruction. Refurbishment works completed one no sooner than in 1772 completely changed appearance of the church. The interior and the body obtained the today's appearance. The heavy vault, all chapels, sacristy and the vestibule with towers were demolished. Lanceted windows were installed, buttress were forged, cracked walls were reinforced. Almost nothing remained from Gothic and Renaissance architectonic elements. The church was re-oriented. At the expense of length of the aisle on the side of the Vistula River, a presbytery was built, and behind it two sacristies with a chapterhouse on the first floor. The Renaissance vault was replaced with a flat ceiling. From the market square, a vestibule with the main entrance were separated. in a new facade the walls of the former presbytery with preserved buttresses were crowned with a modest Baroque top with spiral volutes and a wooden ave-bell. Subsequent refurbishment works were conducted in the late 19th century by the parish-priest Kazimierz Weloński. The whole church was renovated, at the place of old altars in arcades seven equal baroque altars were erected, the interior was ornamented with polychromy. His brother, well-known sculptor Pius Weloński, gave five paintings, including "The Ascension Day" to the main altar. A built bell-tower and a presbytery were built.
In October 1842, all of the Płock inhabitants were shocked with the information on impudent theft of valuable liturgical silverwares and votive offerings stored in the church. in the next year, Tsar Nicholas offered a great monstrance, chalices, other objects made specially in Petersburg and fabrics for chasubles woven with gold.
The largest ornament of the interior is a marble main altar, excellent work of early Baroque. It was created in the years 1620-1630, according to the design by Mateo Castello. It was transferred to the parish church in 1856 from the St. Adelbert's Church being demolished. Also two paintings in silver "jackets" stand out. The Pieta from the 17th century, originating from the St. Michael's church, and the 18th-century Rosary Heavenly Mother from the Dominican Holy Trinity's Church. remnants from the old equipment are only the 16th-century epitaphs of Paweł and Apolonia Alantsee, sepulchral plate of Franciszek Kramarz and his son-in-law, mayor Marcin Gajnowski and a great crucifix from the 17th century.
During World War 2, the St. Bartholomew's Parish Church was the only active church in the whole deanery.
Architectonic investigations in the church conducted in past years broadened knowledge about the history of this monument. A portal and lanceted windows were uncovered of the primary, Medieval facade oriented towards the Vistula River. in facades of the church the outlines of gothic and renaissance architectonic elements were exposed.
