Symbol of modernism. Divine Mercy Church in Kalisz

This is one of the most unique churches in Poland. The Divine Mercy Church is located on Asnyka Street in Kalisz. The parishioners waited for its construction for many years. The result was a building with a bold form, which today can boldly be regarded as one of the symbols of Polish Modernism

The parish received the first permission to build a church in 1957. Work was halted by the Provincial Office in Poznań. The next chance to build a temple came in 1974. The foundation stone was laid three years later. The project prepared in the 1950s was realised many years later. The unique shape of the building is an expression of the artistic freedom that took place in the 1950s

Construction of the church began twenty years after the project was conceived. Work began in 1977 and was not formally completed until 1993, when the church was consecrated and declared the Divine Mercy Sanctuary of the Diocese of Kalisz

The building was designed by Jerzy Kuźmienko and Andrzej Fajans. The architects envisaged a church whose roof would be a uniform block of concrete, which they decorated with a shape. The edifice has characteristic undulations, which they managed to form thanks to the reinforced concrete structure. In total, the church is 45 metres high and the roof area alone is as large as 1,000 square metres. The effect was achieved thanks to the structure, which was designed by Waclaw Zalewski. He is a pioneer of rope-and-reinforced concrete techniques who had previously designed the structure of Poznan’s Okrąglak

The interior is decorated with a mosaic that depicts the figure of Jesus the Merciful. To the right are reliefs depicting Our Lady of the Dawn Gate. Right next to it are images of saints. On the left side, there is a bas-relief with silhouettes of people waiting for salvation

Today, the building can be compared to the work of architect Oskar Niemeyer or Italian architect Piero Luigi Nervi

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