page_title: Bernardyńska Street in Bydgoszcz
section_title: Main places and buildings
hierarchical_section_title: Bernardyńska Street in Bydgoszcz / Main places and buildings
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bromberg Garnisonskirche
context_page_description: Bernardyńska street is an historic axis of Bydgoszcz Old Town. It bears many historical buildings, of which several are listed on Kuyavian-Pomeranian Heritage list.
context_section_description: Tenement at N°1A
  20th century
  Modern architecture
  Tenement at N°3
  1893-1905, by Karl Bergner
  Neo-Baroque
  Bernardine Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace
  Registered on Kuyavian-Pomeranian Heritage list N°601227, Reg.A/674 (March 4, 1931) and N°601228, Reg.A/674 (September 30, 1992)
  Mid-16th century
  Polish Gothic architecture, Renaissance architecture
  The origin of the church dates back to the arrival in 1480 of Bernardine monks in Bydgoszcz, coming from Krakow. The decision to invite Bernadines was made by king Casimir IV Jagiellon, while staying in Bydgoszcz castle during the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66) against the Teutonic Knights.
  On December 5, 1480, Wloclawek's bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki granted the erection in Bydgoszcz of a Bernadine monastery, the third one in Poland after Krakow's and Warsaw's.
  Official founders were King Casimir IV Jagiellon, Hińcza from Rogów, Jarand from Pomian, Bydgoszcz's starost Jan Kościelecki and Bydgoszcz city council.
  Extract from a Bernardine monastery chronicle:
  " On the other side of the Brda River, to Kujawy settled down our brothers. A place was given to them with the consent of His Majesty the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiello,  His Most Reverend Zbigniew Oleśnicki, bishop of Wloclawek. His episcopal Majesty arrived together with his brother Michał Bal and his brother Stanislaw from Kłobuck, yore a famous of preacher, and two other brothers, designated by order of His Majesty to choose the place according to their taste. Attending also were its highness Jan Kościelecki, governor of Bydgoszcz, (...) There, the brothers chose a place convenient to the monastery as they saw it. "
  The construction of "St. Jerome and St. Francis church" has been completed in 1485 and the monastery library in 1488. The original temple was made of brick, as depicted by notes of a preserved chronicle of Bernardine: "Brothers of the Order after receiving permission for the construction of the convent, performed bricks, prepared lime, (...) cleared the bushes".
  Like often, the Bernardine monastery created an outstanding environment for intellectual culture development in Bydgoszcz. In the years 1518-1524, the abbey was led by Bartholomew of Bydgoszcz, a scholar, author of the first Latin-Polish dictionary (1532, 1544). During the 17th century, the abbot, Paweł of Łęczyca, was an active supporter of urban decorations, founder of the extensive gardens of the monastery, which were ancestors of today's Bydgoszcz parks. The Bernardines created the largest library in the city (1919 volumes, partially preserved until today at the municipal library) and established a rhetoric school (1529-1774), an observatory (1677), and a brewery.
  On August 10, 1545, a lightning stroke the abbey, causing a fire that burned down the church and a large part of the monastic buildings, the only buildings left were the library along with the vestry and the infirmary.
  On September 23, 1552, king Sigismund II Augustus granted permission for the reconstruction of the burned Bernardine church, with a caveat to its height that should not be taller than the neighboring castle for military-defensive purposes. Its architecture reflects Gothic and Renaissance characteristics. Saint George church was built from 1552-1557, thanks to the financial support of the Kościelecki family. Temple name was then changed to Holy Trinity.
  On September 10, 1559, Sebastian of Żydowo, a suffragan of Gniezno, consecrated the Holy Cross altar in the church, and in 1563, bell-founder Herman Benincke from Gdańsk cast the great bell of the monastery. The completion of the reconstruction lasted till the years 1590-1602: at that time, city nobleman Stanislaw Małżewski unveiled the altar of the Holy Cross in the newly built Saint Anne chapel on the south side of the church (the chapel is still standing today). In 1595, Dorothy of Spławski, Jan Kościelecki's wife, the Starost of Bydgoszcz, decorated the chapel of the convent with polychrome and three green rugs. The same year has been also erected the Saint Anne Brotherhood altar.
  Damaged during Swedish wars, the building h
caption: Garrison church, Bromberg ca 1900
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