History of the church

The church of St. Anne in Radzyń Chełmiński is a Gothic church built and expanded from around 1310 to around 1600. It was constructed using brick in a Gothic style, with a stone foundation. In 1456, it was destroyed and then thoroughly renovated. The walls of the presbytery were likely raised and an eastern gable was built in the second half of the 15th century. Unfortunately, in 1575, the church was consumed by fire. In 1598, the walls of the nave were raised, the facade was shaped, and the Dąbrowski Chapel (dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord) was built, funded by the starost of Radzyń Chełmiński, Hugo Dąbrowski. Around 1600, the Działyński family added a burial chapel to the north wall of the nave. The church experienced fires again in 1615 and 1628, after which it was partially rebuilt in 1640, thanks to the efforts of the starost of Radzyń Chełmiński, Mikołaj Wejher. In 1673, the Dąbrowski Chapel was renovated. The church underwent further renovations in the years 1680-1695 (complete reconstruction), 1885, and 1892 (after the tower was damaged by lightning). In 1948, an electrical installation was installed, and from 1980 to 1985, stained glass windows were replaced. In 1993, the Dąbrowski Chapel’s polychromes were restored.

Historic furnishings of the church include:

• a Baroque main altar from the late 17th/early 18th century, divided into three sections with gates, featuring a painting signed by B. Strobel titled “Coronation of the Virgin Mary”,
• two Baroque-Classical side altars from 1820, created by M. Przemysławski,
• four late Baroque altars from the second quarter of the 18th century,
• Baroque ceiling polychrome in the presbytery and nave, made after 1640 by B. Strobel, and late Baroque wall polychrome in the nave from the second half of the 18th century,
• a Rococo-Classical pulpit from the early 19th century, crafted by M. Przemysławski,
• a Baroque baptismal font from the late 17th/early 18th century,
• Classical-style choir stalls from the late 18th/early 19th century with Gothic sedilia,
• a wooden music choir from 1694,
• a Rococo-Classical organ prospect from the late 18th century,
• a Baroque painting depicting the Crucifixion Group and Judas receiving silver coins from around the mid-17th century,
• marble tombstones with sculpted figures of knights.

The monastic complex in Rywałd Królewski consists of a baroque church of St. Sebastian and a monastery with outbuildings and a garden. The current church was built between 1710-1738 at the initiative of the Czapski family and was handed over to the Capuchin fathers who arrived from Warsaw in 1748. The interior design is late Baroque and includes: the main altar from the mid-18th century with a Gothic sculpture of the Mother of God Enthroned with the Child (the so-called Gypsy Mother of God) from the end of the 14th century, six Baroque-classical side altars from the turn of the 18th/19th centuries, a pulpit, confessionals, and an 18th-century baptismal font. The dominant color of the furnishings is bronze, which is the color of the habits of the Capuchin friars.

The monastery in Rywałd was the first stage (25.09.1953 – 12.10.1953) of the over three-year internment of the Primate of the Millennium (Stefan Wyszyński) carried out by the communist authorities as a repression against the Church. In the monastery, you can visit the Cardinal’s cell with preserved equipment from that time, as well as a memorial room with his personal memorabilia.

The water tower in Radzyń Chełmiński was built in 1910. Such structures were mass -produced in cities from the second half of the 19th century until the 1930s and were the most important and recognizable objects of the water supply network. These buildings had different, often decorative shapes. The tower in Radzyń is circular, with walls made of red joint brick and the upper part made of concrete. Currently, the object is not in use.

In the 19th century, Rywałd was a village inhabited by people of various nationalities and religions. Therefore, a Protestant church was built then. It is an oriented building, made of brick on a stone foundation. The interior of the church consists of a hall corpus with a five-sided apse and a storied northern nave with an adjacent staircase on the west. The church building was connected to the pastor’s house. The gable roof was covered with tiles, lowered on the apse. After 1945, when the faithful left these areas, the church lost its significance and fell into ruin. In the following years, our country organized a grain collection center inside the walls of this temple, which led to its complete ruin.

Recreation, Sports and Leisure Park in Radzyń Chełmiński was created in 2014 in the centre of the town covering the area of 2.5 hectare of wet wastelands. The complex includes a sports part (with a full-length football pitch, Orlik, two outdoor gyms, an indoor ice rink which in the summer serves as a beach volleyball court, three table tennis stations, an external chess table and a long jump station) as well as recreation and leisure part where you can relax walking down the park alley, admire floristic arrangements, a pond full of fish and a fountain. In addition, you can find a mini zoo, two playgrounds, a barbecue pavilion, a summer amphitheatre and a swing for disabled people there.

The Commemorative Plaque which commemorates Józef Piłsudski’s stay in Radzyń Chełmiński was designed and carved by the artist Oleg Ivanenko. The bronze cast was made by Marcin Kałdowski’s foundry in Zakrzewo. The plaque is embedded in the facade of the Municipal Council’s building, at Plac Towarzystwa Jaszczurczego 9 ( 9 Lizard Union Square). The ceremony of the solemn unveiling of the plaque took place on 24th September 2018 during the celebration of 100th Anniversary of the Restoration of Poland’s Independence.

The castle was built at the turn of the 13th and 14th century by the Teutonic Order on a square plan. After the Battle of Grunwald (aka the First Battle of Tannenberg) in 1410, all personal valuables of Urlich von Jungingen, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, were deposited here. After the Thirty Years’ War the castle was incorporated into Poland. During the years 1466-1772 the castle was the seat of the town starost and the place where the sejmiks (occasionally translated as dietines) of Chełmno lands were held. The Castle was destroyed by the Swedish army in the 17th century.

The Art Gallery „Stodoła” (Barn) in Szumiłowo represents a unique sculpture park where sculptors from different parts of the world were able to integrate their handiworks into surrounding nature, the forest, the pond, the garden and the fields. From 2010 the gallery is run by the owners of the farmhouse. The journey through the stations starts by entering the Door to the Forest.

A historic windmill dating back to the end of the 19th century inscribed in the Registry of Cultural Property of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage of Poland. A windmill of a Netherland type, made of brick and built on a circular plan with a movable roof part. For many years it served as a mill. Small windows and a picturesque entrance gate highlight the beauty of its construction.