The Krzyżanowski Chapel

The cemetery mausoleum was built on the site of the former Cetner Chapel between 1890 and 1891, in the then-fashionable Neo-Gothic style, to a design by Jan Tomasz Kudelski. The construction work was carried out by Jan Lewiński’s well-known Lviv-based firm. The chapel, commissioned by Stanisław Krzyżanowski to commemorate his mother, is built of brick and features a copper-clad turret. Above the entrance is an inscription: IN MEMORY OF MY DEAREST / MOTHER //, and on the rear wall there are three plaques – on the upper one the inscription: TEOFILA TEODORA / OF THE TARGOWSKI FAMILY / 1st name KRZYŻANOWSKA / 2nd name KALICIŃSKA / *1/4 1829 +20/7 1890; the central plaque: OF THE KRZYŻANOWSKI FAMILY / STANISŁAWA / POKORNOWA / *20 April 1885 / +6 December 1926 //. Plaques inside: ZOSIA / KRZYŻANOWSKA / *4 September 1889, +3 SEPTEMBER 1899 //, and DR STANISŁAW KRZYŻANOWSKI / NATIONAL SOLICITOR / BORN 11 JULY 1848. +10 MARCH 1899 //. The roof is adorned with distinctive chimera-like gargoyles made of sandstone and stone tracery in the windows, which are fitted with stained-glass panes produced by the renowned Tiroler Glasmalerei und Mosaik Anstalt in Innsbruck. The sculptural details are most likely the work of Kudelski’s collaborator, Piotr Witalis Harasimowicz. The interior is accessed via a flight of steps, the balustrade of which is a masterpiece of metalwork. The whole is complemented by elements of coloured, glazed ceramics and murals.

A few words about the architect

Jan Tomasz Kudelski (1861–1937) was actively involved in Lviv, not only designing new buildings but also taking part in numerous renovations, including the Potulicki Palace at 4 Jana Matejki Street, the Siemieński-Lewicki Palace at 19 Piekarska Street, the former St Joseph’s Orphanage at 61 Piekarska Street, and several villas and townhouses. He later became the town architect in Stanisławów and also ran his own construction firm. Buildings constructed to his designs included the Railway Directorate building, the Austro-Hungarian Bank, the local Main Post Office and the branch building of the Kraków Mutual Insurance Society ‘Florianka’. From 1919, Kudelski was based in Warsaw, working as a designer at the Ministry of Public Works.

Between 2019 and 2020, the Polonika Institute carried out conservation work on the chapel.