Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Why is it significant?
In front of you is a perfect drum of a church, round as a coin, with a portico of columns and a broad dome on top, more like a Roman temple than a Polish parish church. This is the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, and for musicians in Warsaw it has always been a favourite room in the city.
Key Facts
| Place | Holy Trinity Lutheran Church |
|---|---|
| Address | pl. Małachowskiego 1, 00-063 Warszawa, Poland |
| Geo Coordinates | 52.23860, 21.01140 |
| Part of Walk | Chopin's Warsaw: A Walk Through the Composer's Home Town |
| Generated | Generated |
In front of you is a perfect drum of a church, round as a coin, with a portico of columns and a broad dome on top, more like a Roman temple than a Polish parish church. This is the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, and for musicians in Warsaw it has always been a favourite room in the city.
It was built between 1777 and 1781 by the architect Szymon Bogumił Zug for the city's Lutheran burghers, many of them of German origin, with the blessing of King Stanisław August. Zug borrowed his idea from the Pantheon in Rome: a single round space under a dome, where every seat faces the centre. Acoustically, it is a gift, a voice or an organ seems to come from everywhere at once.
In 1825 the fifteen-year-old Chopin performed in this church. That same year he was showing off a curious new instrument called the aeolomelodicon, half organ, half piano, and Tsar Alexander I, who was also King of Poland, heard the boy play it during a visit to Warsaw and sent him a diamond ring. Not bad for a schoolboy who was still sitting Lyceum exams.
For generations this was the spiritual home of Warsaw's Lutherans, a small but influential community of bankers, industrialists and craftsmen, and its dome was one of the landmarks of the skyline. The church burned during the German bombardment of September 1939 and was rebuilt after the war. Today it again hosts concerts, and when Chopin's music sounds under this dome, it is coming home to a room he knew.
Look around the square as well. The stately building with the frieze next door is the Zachęta, the national art gallery, opened at the turn of the twentieth century. Musicians, painters and poets all crossed this square on their way somewhere. For the finale, walk south along Mazowiecka street and then Jasna, toward the concert hall where the whole world comes to play Chopin.