Historic Evangelical-Augsburg Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Pabianice
The modest, beautifully pastel church interior, with its historic organs and excellent acoustics give the place its unique character.
Situated at the crossroads of two main arteries, is is the third oldest historic building in the city, only eclipsed by the former court of the capitulars from Kraków and the Roman-Catholic church of St. Matthew, and, you could say, a pearl of architecture.
Its construction lasted from 1827 to 1832. Built in the neoclassical style, as a lantern-topped rotunda. The church hosts a marble baptismal font, brought in 1864 from Saxony thanks to the efforts of Pabianice’s industrialist, Gottfried Krusche.
The church underwent renovations between 1875 and 1876, adding the second gallery, the tower and stained glass windows. The renovation was possible thanks to the support of the parish members, including many of Pabianice’s industrialists, like the Krusche, Ender and Kindler families.
The altar’s painting, which shows Jesus praying in the Gethsemane garden, is the work of Wojciech Gerson, a famous Polish artist and the founder of the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw.
During the 1920-ies the gas heater was installed in the church.
In 1945 the church was taken from the parish.
The church was returned in 1950, devastated. It underwent repairs in the same year, bringing it back to functional condition. Unfortunately the stained glass windows funded by the Kindler family couldn’t be recovered.
In 1973, a replacement for the destroyed pipe organ was brought in. The organ came from the late 18th-early 19th century, from a historic church in Lower Silesia, one of the last in the region to keep its mechanical trackers intact.
In 1976, a new bell was installed in place of the previous (missing) ones. It came from the chapel of Swedish sailors in Gdynia.
In the 1970-ies the church’s exterior received a new coat of paint. From the 2000 to 2002 the church received a major upgrade, including thermorenovation, installing its underfloor heating, giving the interior a new paint coat, plus renovating the altar, baptismal font and the pulpit.