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DANZIG REPORT  -  -  Nr. 70


Editor: John H. Bloecher Jr., 1743 Little Creek Drive, Baltimore, Md. 21207

THE ROYAL CHAPEL


As you walk south on Damni I (Gropia I) and approach Heilige Geist Gasse (SW. Ducha), the baroque domes of the Royal Chapel (Kaplica Krolewska) appear in front of the northern facade of Marienkirche. Built in 1678—1681 by Bartholomaus Ranisch, it was based on a project b’ the famous architect (of Dutch origin) Tilman van Gameren. The fine facade is the work of Andreas Schiuter the younger. The chapel was founded by King John III Sobieski, who was one of Poland’s most popular kings. John III had many ties with early Gdansk, but his main claim to fame was the defeat of the Turks at the gates of Vienna in 1683. It was said that this action saved Europe from the “infidels”, but retrospect also tells us that the Turks were the only force that could keep Russia in check from southeastern Europe. The 17th Century was a violent time for central Europe and Danzig: beginning in 1600, the first wars with Sweden; in 1648, the Cossack rebellion of Herman Chmielnicki in the Ukraine; from 1655—1660, Polish-Swedish War — “The Deluge”.

 

Danzig Report   Nr. 70 - January - February - March - 1991, Page 1.