The Church of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Serock
The oldest architectural monument in the
Legionowo County. The church was built in
the style of late Gothic in the years 1524–
1530 by the master mason Maciej Gadzała
from Serock. In the period of the Duchy of
Warsaw and the Kingdom of Poland it served
as the church for the Polish troops stationed
in the vicinity.
During the interwar period, one of the walls of the presbytery displayed a mural presenting the death of Ignacy Skorupka, the young army chaplain who died in the Polish ranks during the Bolshevik advance on Warsaw in 1920. In 1945 pastor Franciszek Kuligowski ordered to cover the mural with paint, fearing that it would give rise to a profanation of the church by the Communists. Today, it is replaced by a painting of a contemporary artist referring to the same theme. The low reliefs presenting the Stations of the Cross were carved in 1937 by a well-known sculptress Zofia Trzcińska-Kamińska (1890- 1977) who went down in history for her display of patriotism. Disguised as a man, under an assumed name of Zygmunt Tarło, she served with the cavalry regiment of the Brigade II of the Polish Legions.
Adjacent to the church, is the tomb of Fr Franciszek Kuligowski (1870-1963), the long-time pastor of the parish, archdeacon of Pułtusk, the chaplain of the gymnasium in Płock and a lecturer at the Higher Theological Seminary in the years 1904–1905, during times of the struggle for the right to study in the Polish language at schools. He was removed from his position by the Russian authorities for disseminating patriotic ideas. In 1940, he was a prisoner of a German concentration camp in Działdowo, from which – after he was released - he was relocated to the General Government for the Occupied Polish Territories. After the war, he became known for his protests against the Communist regime.
Nearby, stands a kiosk of the Polish Catholic Action, funded by its Chairwoman − Princess Maria Radziwiłłowa. In May and June 1989, an information point of the “Solidarity” Citizens’ Committee was operating next to the kiosk.
During the interwar period, one of the walls of the presbytery displayed a mural presenting the death of Ignacy Skorupka, the young army chaplain who died in the Polish ranks during the Bolshevik advance on Warsaw in 1920. In 1945 pastor Franciszek Kuligowski ordered to cover the mural with paint, fearing that it would give rise to a profanation of the church by the Communists. Today, it is replaced by a painting of a contemporary artist referring to the same theme. The low reliefs presenting the Stations of the Cross were carved in 1937 by a well-known sculptress Zofia Trzcińska-Kamińska (1890- 1977) who went down in history for her display of patriotism. Disguised as a man, under an assumed name of Zygmunt Tarło, she served with the cavalry regiment of the Brigade II of the Polish Legions.
Adjacent to the church, is the tomb of Fr Franciszek Kuligowski (1870-1963), the long-time pastor of the parish, archdeacon of Pułtusk, the chaplain of the gymnasium in Płock and a lecturer at the Higher Theological Seminary in the years 1904–1905, during times of the struggle for the right to study in the Polish language at schools. He was removed from his position by the Russian authorities for disseminating patriotic ideas. In 1940, he was a prisoner of a German concentration camp in Działdowo, from which – after he was released - he was relocated to the General Government for the Occupied Polish Territories. After the war, he became known for his protests against the Communist regime.
Nearby, stands a kiosk of the Polish Catholic Action, funded by its Chairwoman − Princess Maria Radziwiłłowa. In May and June 1989, an information point of the “Solidarity” Citizens’ Committee was operating next to the kiosk.