Church of St. John the Baptist

The Church of St. John the Baptist is one of the most interesting monuments in Gniezno. It was the headquarters of Order of the Holy Sepulchre for centuries. Its presbytery houses the original 14th-century polychromy made with fresco-secco technique.

Order of the Holy Sepulchre arrived in Poznań from Miechowo in the second half of the 12th century. Over 70 years later, Przemysł I and Bolesław the Pious founded them monastery and church in the suburbs of Gniezno. Monastics lived here until the dissolution by Prussian authorities.

The church is a single-nave Gothic building with a tower at the west side. It is topped by the 17th-century brass tented roof. The interior has the cross and rib vault which keystones are decorated with the empty shield of arms and the sign of the order - cross with a double bar. The most interesting part of the church is its presbytery where, at the beginning of the 20th century, Gothic polychromes made with fresco-secco technique were discovered. They depict prophets and kings from the Old Testament and scenes from the New Testament.