Description of the attraction
The Church of the Business Cards is a church named after the corresponding female Catholic order, located in the center of Warsaw. The church has another name - the Church of the Guardianship of St. Joseph. The church is one of the few examples of the exquisite Rococo style in the Polish capital.
The first wooden church on this site was created in 1651 by order of Queen Mary - Louise Gonzard de Nevers for the French Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This church was burned down by the Swedes in 1656. In 1664, construction began on a new church. The first stone was laid by Vaclav Leszczynski. Unfortunately, being unfinished, the church burned down in 1695. The construction of the new church in its current form began only in 1728 by the project of the architect Karol Wau at the initiative of the politician Elzbieta Sieniawski. In 1734, construction was suspended due to lack of funds and continued several years later thanks to the participation of Maria Sofia Czartoryska. The façade and altar of the church were made by the Polish architect Efrem Schreger. The sculptures on the façade are the work of the greatest Polish sculptor John George Plesch. The church was consecrated by Bishop Joseph Andrew Zaluski on September 20, 1761.
The Church of the Business Cards is one of the few buildings in Warsaw that was not damaged during the Second World War. It has survived to this day in good condition. The church became very popular after Chopin played the organ here during divine services as a student at the Warsaw Lyceum. The original organ is still in the church.
In 1960, the priest and poet Jan Twardowski became the rector of the church.
