The soaring Gothic church was built at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. The oldest part of the church is now the chancel. Built of brick and red sandstone coThe church was expanded during the reign of Casimir the Great. The most valuable monument of the Olkusz temple is a Gothic polyptych from the late 15th century, one of four such altars in Poland. Noteworthy is a Renaissance altarpiece from the early 17th century with a painting of St. Andrew the Apostle - the church's patron saint. An unusual monument is the late Renaissance organ, the construction of which was begun in 1611 by prominent organist Hans Hummel. The Olkusz organ, as one of the few in Europe, has preserved the original mechanism and the vast majority of pipes. In autumn, the Olkusz church resounds with the sounds of early music during the Organ Music Days. In the church one can see, among other things, a baptismal font made at the end of the 16th century from Olkusz lead and a magnificent, one-and-a-half-meter-high 17th-century silver Cross of the Guards. The interior of the church is decorated with tombstones of townspeople with characteristic gmerkas and Gothic stalls. Next to the church rises a neo-Gothic bell tower built in 1913. The parish of pw. St. Andrew the Apostle, 1 Szpitalna St., 32-300 Olkusz, Tel. 32 6430891, 32 6431520; fax 32 6478157. Services: weekdays from 6.30 - 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 - 7.00 p.m.; on Sundays and holidays from 6.30 - 2.00 p.m. and 4.30 - 6.00 p.m. Groups can visit the basilica by telephone arrangement. Call the parish office (32 6431520, Monday through Friday, 10 am - 12 pm; in addition, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 4 pm - 6 pm; Saturday, 9 am - 10 am).
23.07.2014
