CHURCH OF ST. PETER AND PAUL IN NYSA

The Church of St. Peter and Paul in Nysa is one of the largest religious monuments in Nysa and one of the gems of the Baroque period in the whole of Silesia. The history of the temple is connected with the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, who were brought to Nysa at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. Over the centuries, the Order frequently changed its headquarters within the Nysa region. Between 1708 and 1713 a new monastery building was built, and in 1719 construction of a Baroque church began. All of this was thanks to the patronage of the Bishop of Wrocław, Franz Ludwig von Neuburg. The church's richly decorated interiors, perfect organ music and illusionistic painting were meant to delight anyone who might step inside. This was to induce Lutherans to return to Catholicism. The author of the concept for the body of the church was Michael Klein, and from 1728 the work was directed by Felix Anton Hammerschmidt. The Baroque gem of Nysa shows strong influences from the Czech architectural school of Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, one of the designers of the church in Prague's Malá Strana district. The church features a hall-and-gallery interior with sail vaults. The authors of the church's painted decoration were the Scheffler brothers, who were well known at the time. It is not without reason that the illusionist paintings depict scenes related to the Holy Cross. The Order of the Holy Sepulchre focused on

the worship of the Holy Sepulchre, as well as the Holy Cross – one of the most important Christian relics. The further history of the church and monastery includes secularisation in 1810, after which the church briefly became a soap factory and the monastery became a hospital. After World War II, until 1997, the temple and monastery housed a Higher Theological Seminary. In 1999, the Parish of St. Peter and St. Paul was established.