St. Mary’s Church

St. Mary's Church , or formally the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Roman Catholic  which construction began in 1379, or 1343  and is currently one of the two or three largest brick churches in the world. The exterior of the nave is dominated by plain brick walls and high and narrow pointed arch windows. At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries the church was rebuilt and greatly enlarged. The final shape of the church was achieved over 150 years after initial building work had begun. At this time the side aisles and the stellar vaulted ceiling, the most beautiful in Poland, was added. The dimensions of this temple are very impressive – the nave is 105m long and 66m wide. The church is decorated within with several masterpieces of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque painting. The most notable, The Last Judgement by Flemish painter Hans Memling, is currently preserved in the National Museum of Gdańsk. Other works of art were transferred to the National Museum in Warsaw in 1945. It wasn't until the 1990s when several of them were returned to the church.