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In the late morning of May 22, repairs were underway on the roof of Saint Catherine’s, a historic and architectural jewel of Gdansk, Poland. Sometime after the project began, the sound of a crash was heard, catching the attention of one worker. He quickly realized that roofing tiles had fallen from one roof onto and through the roof of the structure beneath it. Within moments, black smoke emerged from the area. As a fire began to grow, bright red and yellow flames could be seen amongst the billowing blackness.
Saint Catherine’s Church, Gdansk, is administered by the Carmelites of the Polish Province. As the fire began to take hold, the local residents and workers came to their aid by securing from the impending destruction many pieces of art housed in the parish. The city fire brigade was en-route to the incident after at least one witness notified authorities.
Although the roof in its entirety was consumed, the church’s bell tower was defended and saved from severe fire damage. As the fire was extinguished, firefighters worked throughout the evening to assess and recover fixtures from the church.
The parish was founded in 1184 by the princes of Gdansk Pomerania. The church structure was erected during the years of 1227-1239. Up until about 1343, Saint Catherine was the sole Catholic parish within the city limits.
Substantial architectural additions began within the following century. The distinctive bell tower was completed in 1486. Eighty-nine years later, a bell carillon, manufactured in the Netherlands that contained an original complement of 14 bells was installed.
Johan Hevelius was a 15th century of native of Danzig (Gdansk’s former name when it was a German city until 1919 when it was ceded to Poland). A successful brewer and city official, he constructed an observatory complete with a 130-foot focal length telescope. This notable contributor to astronomy was buried in St Catherine’s Church in 1687.
Unfortunately, this repository of paintings by Anton Möller and Izaak van den Blocke among others of Gothic, Mannerist, and Baroque styles was subjected to elements of destruction throughout history. One fire caused a great deal of damage with the walls in 1905. Towards the end of the Second World War, as the Russians advanced west, the Red Army destroyed the church building. Subsequent restoration efforts began in 1953 and lasted about four years.
In 1989, fifty years after Nazi Stuka dive bombers initiated the blitzkrieg throughout Poland, a new carillon, consisting of 37 bells was installed and blessed by the Carmelites. For the past seventeen years the bells have beautifully chimed every hour on the hour. In recent years, the city of Gdansk utilized the church tower to house a clock museum.
According to C.I.T.O.C., Father Lukasz Semik, O.Carm., prior of the community, there were no injuries. The full extent of the damage and future restoration efforts are still being investigated.
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