The text describes the history of the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Lviv, starting from the time when only the statue existed there. The history of the later church is outlined, and the building is also described in detail from an architectural perspective. The restoration of the church is mentioned later in the article. The text is also accompanied by several photographs of the church (Source: "Ziemia. Tygodnik Krajoznawczy Ilustrowany' Warsaw 1928, no. 7, pp. 4-9, after: Wielkopolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa).

A modernised reading of the text

St. Magdalene Church in Lviv and its restoration

In the corner of the wall surrounding the former monastery property, on the side of the St Magdalene's presbytery, hides under a vivid vault of lush greenery a unique monument, valuable both for its beautiful shapes and for the memories associated with it. It is an approximately 5 m high quadrilateral stone pillar with a slightly wider base and an upper cap in the form of a lantern, decorated with Ionic columns on the corners and covered by a sloping roof with four obelisks on the corners and a cross on top. One wall of the lantern is filled in relief with the Passion of Christ, the other with the figure of a saint - the other two are blank. On the shaft of the pillar, under the figure of the Crucified Christ, there is a long Latin inscription in numerous rows, and just under the eaves of the canopy there is a partially preserved dedicatory inscription, as well as a more recent note that the statue was restored in 1872. In its present state, it is unblemished, thanks to the cover of dense foliage that protects it from the rain.

Zimorowicz mentions in his chronicle a stone column with sculptures of the Passion of Christ on the Sokolnicka road, and this year Anna Pstrokońska erected at its foot a small shrine to St Magdalene made of honed wood, and at its entrance she placed an image of some seven demons (the seven deadly sins) and Christ, adding the following anagram: "Maria Magdalena, grandia mea mala" - which Zimorowicz apparently wrote erroneously, since from the rhythmic arrangement of the headings it is clear that the inscription most likely originally read: "Maria de Magdala, grandia mea mala". In these words, the foundress repented to St Penance of her supposedly even greater offences.

Thus the 1597 Passion of the Christ founded by Dr. Syict on the Sokolnická road is older than the church itself, which owes its foundation to the pious Mrs. Pstrokońska, who found encouragement for it in the pious intention of the famous Lviv physician. Her wooden church was modest, but it was not long before it met her ambitions and the needs of the Dominican Fathers, to whom she gave it. A chronicler of the Lviv archdiocese, Fr Piravskyi, records the building of the monastery and the laying of the foundations of the church as early as around 1615.

"This monastery was built by the Dominican friars so that the students of the order (novitiate) could peacefully devote themselves to their studies and books. For study requires seclusion and tranquillity. Finally, so that the students would not be distracted and distracted from the continuity of their studies by processions and other ecclesiastical duties. Grant mediocrity to the air, which, harsh and dense in the city, is often harmful and a cause of illness.".

All those who write about St Magdalene's Church speak one after the other about Pstrokonskaya's wooden church and then about the brick one, without being able to distinguish between these chronological terms. The difference between the two source accounts, which differed between Zimorowicz and Pirawski, obscures the issue. The former mentions only a wooden church, the latter only a masonry church, and both date them to 1600. It is most likely that these were not two foundations, but one, which Pstrokońska decided to build "anticipando" a wooden chapel, which was soon followed by the walls - as Pirawski states - first of the monastery, and then of the church, which was still unnecessary as the clerics could use the wooden chapel for the time being. Pirawski is more trustworthy because he is supported by small but undoubted archival records, as well as by the stylistic features of the most ancient (rear) part of the present church. There can be no doubt that it began to be built at the beginning of the 17th century and was only much later extended towards the front; the two towers were probably only erected in the 18th century, after the previous addition of the present nave.

The monastery, situated away from the city walls, was deliberately built on a lofty hill, as it naturally had to be defensive if it was not to be destroyed at the first hint of an enemy incursion. The defensive nature of the temple is still evident today in the foundation of the massive walls and the high positioning of the elongated and wide-open window openings.

In 1648, a dangerous siege by Khmelnytskyi fell on the city; the suburbanites locked themselves between the walls of the suburban monasteries, at the Carmelites, Bernardines, St Magdalene's and others. The same thing more or less repeated itself 24 years later when the Turks besieged the city. In 1704, the Swedish invasion fell, to which the Church of St Magdalene also fell victim, along with others.

The St Magdalene monastery was cancelled in 1784 and used as a trivial school, a voluntary work house and to house the parish priest and vicars. In 1841, it was sold by the "Galician Religious Fund" for a house of correction, later converted into an institution for the punishment of women. The older part of the church was taken over for the inmates and separated by a wall from the rest, intended for the parishioners, of the now emerging New World district. In this way, the former whole of the monastery and church of the Dominican Fathers was divided into two separate parts, which still survives today insofar as the monastery buildings were given over to technical youth, while the church itself became the property of the parish.

There are memories associated with the monastery walls that should not be forgotten by future residents because of their significance in the history of Polish martyrdom. I have in mind the epilogue of the tragic events of 1847, when the victims of Metternich and Siela found themselves in large numbers within the prison walls of St Magdalene.

It was only 75 years later that the walls of St Magdalene's also lived to see their release from their prison bars, to continue to serve the young people in education from then on.

The building of the former convent has been undergoing restoration for several years under the supervision of Professor Klimczak. What he was able to do from the dilapidated ruin, without losing the features of its historic architecture, can be considered as saving the building for many years to come. In terms of architecture the church is quite modest, but very interesting are some decorative and structural details. The church as a whole consists of two or three parts from three different periods. The initial foundation of the Pstrokońska church, which today is the presbytery with a polygonal apse, dates from the beginning of the 17th century and shows strong Renaissance features, as does the church of St Lazarus, with which it shares an eaves cornice with consoles and high windows. The foundations for this initial church were laid before 1615, and it was completed before 1630, as can be inferred from the fact that it received its first consecration from Bishop Zachariah Novoshitsky, Lviv suffragan, in that year only. The great difficulties to be overcome in this, as mentioned by Pirawski, were overcome thanks to the help of Mikolaj Weglinski (from Koniach?), whose memory is preserved by a stone slab with a relief of Renaissance character, with the initial letters of his name and surname and the inscription:

"REQUIESCAT IN PACE (AEMULAMINI CHARISMATA) MELIORA",

making allusions to his competition with the church's foundress. This stone is in the outer wall of the older part of the church from Syxtuska Street, and it is not known for what purpose a hole was punched in the middle of its decoration, in the middle of a slab and wall thick with what appears to be a rifle hole. It is possible that this is because of the aforementioned defensive nature of the church, but in that case attention should be paid during the present restoration work to see if other similar openings are found in the same height. In the second half of the 17th century, the old church was lengthened towards the front, increasing its original length by about one more, and in the 18th century the present façade was added, side towers were added and two stone statues, well carved by a local master, were placed on top. After that, the church took on its current appearance of a typical Baroque building. The towers were restored in 1870.

Ten years later, the square in front of the church (former cemetery) was considerably lowered, so that a semicircular terrace with stairs on both sides had to be added to the façade. It was also at this time that a stone statue of the Virgin Mary was placed in the flower bed. The three-nave church, with the central nave being higher, is covered by a four-bay vaulted ceiling, the so-called Bohemian vaulting, with double garths, supported on both sides by three massive pillars, decorated with double Corinthian pilasters. The presbytery section is covered by a barrel vault with lunettes, nowadays quite significantly settled on one side and therefore in need of partial reconstruction. On this vault, just above the main altar, is a bas-relief in stucco depicting Christ on the cross, with iron hooks at his hands and ribs, where a candlestick with eternal fire used to hang on chains.

However, the most interesting monument of the church and undoubtedly the most original in Lviv is the huge altar, or altar wall, in the shape of a wide-open triangle. On huge impost pillars it is supported towards the vault of the apse by an impressive construction of bricks, stone and iron bars, covered by a veritable wealth of sculpture, modelled in mortar while still wet, so to speak "a fresco". These spherical pillars are the basis for four massive columns with Corinthian capitals and shafts decorated with festoons and angel heads. At the base of each column stand allegorical female figures with palms in their hands, and on the capitals are saints of the Dominican order. Each pair of columns, with a strongly moulded arch at the top and a balustrade at the bottom, encloses an arcaded field with figural sculptures. In the central one we see St Magdalene, listening to the melodies of a choir of angels with instruments. Above the central arcade, the Blessed Virgin Mary with a crescent moon under her feet. The left arcade field depicts Christ appearing to Magdalene in the form of a gardener; the right arcade field depicts the saint, listening to the words of Jesus speaking from the pulpit.

In the lunettes of both side fields are figures of St Albert and St Lawrence, while in the arcade lunettes between the side pillars are basic religious compositions. The aforementioned arcade fields are closed by a narrow frame, whose profile is quite similar to that of the window frames in the presbytery part, which would indicate a single hand in the decoration of the original temple. Wł. Łoziński speculates that the author of the altarpiece may have been Wojciech Kielar, who is known to have worked on the construction of the Magdalene church. In my opinion, also implicitly expressed by the author of 'Sztuka Lwowskiej', the work of this master is only the actual structure of the church, and the maker of the sculptural decoration should be sought among the makers of the Boim Chapel sculptures, completed before the Magdalene Church was decorated. The altar at the Dominican church could only have been made after 1615, when - according to Pirawski - hardly "a substantial part" of the foundations for the church had been laid.

The construction of the church dragged on for lack of funds, and it is clear that the altar could not have been made until after its completion, i.e. just before 1630. Here as there, ingenuity and fantasy were not matched by technical skill; the dynamic moment was not equalled by the potential one. Here, as there, we are confronted with a work whose parallels are not to be found either in the rest of Poland or elsewhere, and this is because its creator took over the basic artistic idea from local church iconostasis. This is evident beyond any doubt both in the Boim façade and in the altar wall of the chapel.

The altar of St Magdalene is not modelled directly on the iconostasis, like the Garden Chapel, but is already a derivative form, which does not mean that it was not made by the maker of the Boim sculptures. Indeed, this detail is more in favour of it than against it; the creator of the Boim Chapel realised his original concept for the first time in its sculptures, while in the altar of St Magdalene he gave a simplified - because practically studied on the Boim sculptures - individually evolved concept. Viewed from this angle, the altar wall of St. Magdalene and the Garden Chapel are of great value to the study of art, as a valuable document of the intermingling of Eastern and Western influences in Lviv, and as an interesting example of the paths followed by creative artistic thought in its search for a way to express the ever-changing beauty in ever-new forms. It consists of a rectangular stone frame, closed from the top by a strongly projecting cornice, supported by consoles, covered - like the whole portal - with rich sculptural decoration.

In the middle of the lintel there is an angel's head of the type well known from other Lviv monuments, especially from the Ogrodovec Chapel. This portal, hidden until recently behind the wall dividing the new church from the old one and, as a result, almost unknown, is one of the most classical examples of its kind in Lviv, and is probably as good as the portal of the chapel in the courtyard of the Wallachian church or in the Brzesc castle. The windows, closed with a semicircle, are glazed with poor new stained glass only on the right side of the presbytery, the left side is blind and painted over, and all of them are framed from the inside with narrow stone rolls with a decoration like floral cups overlapping one another. The church was never painted in its entirety, but only partially in the aforementioned window niches in the mid-19th century. An old and not at all good painting is preserved in the field of the triumphal arch. It is worth preserving and refreshing during the current restoration of the church. F. Lobeski also drew attention in 1855 to the painting in the corridor

"In the shape of a large semicircle, frescoed and ancient monument, dating back undoubtedly to the original foundation of the church. It depicts Christ by the sea, giving the kneeling Peter the keys. In the depths, the rest of the apostles, employed in fishing, can be seen. Surrounding the painting is a trail of flying angels holding various church emblems.".

Lobeski especially emphasises the composition and perspective, as well as the beautiful drawing and picturesque grouping of these angels. The paintings in the altars are of low value, with the exception of the one depicting St. Jack holding a statue of N. Mary and a tin can. P. Mary and a tin of communion. In the background one can see Kyiv in flames. This is supposed to be a painting by the Lviv painter Tomasz Gertner (born around 1808), a pupil of St. Stroiński. The wooden benches in the nave, with their corners made by 18th century woodcarvers, are exceptional specimens. Church benches are rarely preserved and we should be careful that they are not vandalised in our church. Numerous altars with mostly correct wooden figures were founded at the end of the 18th century by Archb. Sierakowski.

The main altar, standing under the partition wall, now demolished, was founded in 1857 by Kr. A. Gołuchowski, according to a black marble plaque in the wall to the right of the altar. It was not of any artistic merit and therefore it is not regrettable that it disappeared from the interior of the church. In the left side aisle one can see a plaque of red marble, framed with white, at the top a bronze bust of the well-known naturalist Stan. Borkowski (born 1850), with the coat of arms at the bottom. The monument was chiseled by Lewandowski and funded by his grandson Jerzy. Right next to it, on the first pillar, a monument with a marble bust of Fr. Borkowski, who died in 1860.

In the right-hand nave, a black marble plaque, dedicated to

"To the memory of those who, bringing freedom to the Ukrainian people, fell victim to their ideal aspirations in 1863 in Solovyivka",

with 20 names listed. The marble statue of a seated woman with an angel, chiseled by M. Zawieyski, was donated to the church by Mr Mikolasz in 1889. From beneath the vaulting towards the floor hangs in the right-hand nave a huge woven fabric, woven from multi-coloured yarn, as if by the hands of women who served their sentences in St Magdalene's prison. It is decorated with portraits of kings and the great in the nation, alongside the coats of arms of all the Polish lands. It is not a work of art, but an interesting specimen of the enormity of the toil and work, which was maliciously pointed out by V. Vereshchagin in his book on Lviv, written on the occasion of the occupation of our city by the Tsar's army. Another mention should be made of the bells, two of the larger ones having been requisitioned during the war. Of the older ones, Lobezki mentions one founded by Prior Mateusz Triga, dated 1699, and the other by Father Jacek Sliopkowski, dated 1737.

As mentioned, the church with the monastery has already been restored, enlarged and rebuilt many times. The last work on it was around 1900, and a thorough restoration and repainting was in mind in 1909, when Fr Ludwig Ollender asked a group of restorers for advice on how to carry out the restoration work. These good intentions came to nothing at the time, and it was only now that they could be thought of. The removal of the prison created a new situation for the monastery and the church. There was no longer any need to divide the church into a closed area for prisoners and an open area for parishioners, so first of all the partition wall and the existing main altar were removed. The idea of creating a presbytery with a choir for priests from the old church and a nave for worshippers from the newer church came about by itself.

Accordingly, a new alabaster altar was placed against the old altar wall, free-standing on a several-step elevation and separated from the nave by an alabaster balustrade. The main altar, which perfectly corresponds to the conditions of its surroundings, owes its solution to the original idea of Prof. W. Minkiewicz, whose designs were used by Prof. Starzyński to make the figures of the angels standing on the mensa, and brilliantly gilded by master W. Jakubiak.

The sculptures on the altar wall, which bear visible traces of old polychromy and gilding, should be unconditionally covered with colours, as it was done by Prof. Obmiński in the Boim Chapel, if only because their creator deliberately polychromed them at once, thus obliterating the glaring primitiveness of their workmanship, and bringing out their clarity in the gloom prevailing in this part of the church, intentionally illuminated only by windows on the right side. On the other hand, the idea of "decorating" the ribs of the vaults with plaster decoration is to be opposed, as is the tendency to "grandiose" the presbytery: it has a splendid enough decoration in the form of the main altar wall.

The idea of converting the window niches on the side of the former monastery cells into balconies, open towards the interior, is also not feasible. As I mentioned, the former part of the church has the stylistic character of the late Renaissance, and as we know, the churches of this era did not have similar balconies, which were characteristic of Rococo churches.