Capuchians' Church (The Church of Transfiguration of Our Lord)

Main data:

Year of construction: 1692
Year of reconstruction: 1955
Designers: Tylman from Gameren, Izydor Affaita, Augustyn Locci
Location: ul. Miodowa 13

Capuchians' Church, located at Miodowa street can be associated with two things. This church is a place where the heart of king Jan III Sobieski is buried (in the chapel right from the main altar). But first of all, Capuchians' Church is known among Warsaw inhabitants because of the moving crib, which can be seen here on Christmas period.

The heart of king Jan III Sobieski is buried here not accidentally. This king founded the church, as a thanksgiving for the victories over Turks on the battles of Khotyn and Vienna. Tylman from Gamered, Izydor Affaita and Augustyn Locci were the church's designers. The temple was modeled on Capuchians' Church in Rome. It was erected in the baroque style, it has one nave and two chapels on its sides. The construction of the church took 10 years, from 1683 to 1692.

In 1697 king Jan III Sobieski was buried here and later also his wife Maria Kazimiera. In this church also an urn with remains of king August II is buried. In 18th and 19th century in the basements of the temple a lot of well-deserved Warsaw inhabitants were buried. In 1944 the church was destroyed, only the altar with the painting of the Virgin Mary and some epitaphs from 19th century remained. The reconstruction of the church took place in the years 1945-55.

Every year, during Christmas period a lot of Warsaw inhabitants, especially the youngest ones, visit the lower chapel of Capuchians' Church to see the moving crib, arranged by the Capustians. Usually it can be seen from the Christmas Eve to the beginning of February. Its aim is to encourage to a Christmas reflection, but also to remind of some historical events. Apart from traditional Christmas scenery, also some extra additional elements are put it the crib every yaer: a pond with ducks, skiers skiing down from a hill, a trains driving on rails or Disney characters. In Capuchians' crib every year there are also some historical and modern figures. For example in the past St. Stanislaus, St. Wojciech, Mieszko I, Stefan Czarniecki, priest Jerzy Popieluszko, cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, pope John Paul II and even Lech Walesa appeared there. It is a great attraction to see this crib, not only for kids !

Translation of the street's name:

Miodowa street = Honey street

Practical information:

You can see the church between 9.00 and 12.00 or between 16.00 and 19.00, except the masses, and those took place from Monday to Saturday at 7.00, 8.00, 9.00 and 18.30, and on Sundays at 7.00, 8.00, 9.30, 11.00, 12.15 and 18.30. And the moving crib is usually open from 9.00 to 18.00 in the period between Christmas and 2nd February.

The church's photos from the outside:

Capuchians' Church seen from the east Another view from the east The church and the monastery seen from behind WZ Road The church's facade The upper-part of the facade One more view of the upper-part of the facade A view from the intersection of Miodowa and Kapitulna streets The temple seen from the beggining of Kapitulna street A view from the intersection of Miodowa and Kapucynska streets Here we can see the church in full magnificence, only the photo is put together out of a few pictures so its proportions can be a little bit unbalanced One more view from the front

The church's interior:

A view of the nave A view of the chapels on the right The main altar A painting in the chapel of Blessed Honorat The sarcophagus with the heart of king Jan III Sobieski></A> <A TARGET= A passage between the chapels on the right side

The moving crib in the lower chapel:

A view of the moving crib The left part of the crib - St. Francis and St. Peter's Basilica Here we can see clearly that the crib moves indeed :) The right part of the crib - here the actual crib is situated

(C) 2001-2010 Maciej Blazejewski