99% Roman Catholic, a photo from Malopolskie, East

Photographer's Note

Catholic Church is losing believers in the western part of the world. Ireland is an interesting example: in the past a new prime minister went to Vatican for his/her first international trip. About three years ago, Irish prime minister accused Pope of interfering with Irish internal affairs! This is quite a change and it is a consequence of the paedophilia scandal in Catholic Church.

Polish Catholics are not discouraged by similar crimes among Catholic clergy. They rather blame media that they dare to criticize Church. The facts that Polish Bishops, quite contrary to what current Pope suggests, live in palaces and are driven in really expensive cars seem natural here. Similarly quite open engagement of Catholic clergy in politics is an acceptable standard in Poland.

If Poland seems one of the most Roman Catholic countries in the world, then imagine the most Catholic region in Poland... it is my home town Tarnów. Tarnów educates the highest number of Catholic priests than any other diocese in the world. Over 70% of believers regularly attend mass every Sunday. In the Christmas period it raises to over 90%.

There are plenty of churches in Tarnów as you can imagine. Old wooden churches of this region (Malopolska) are recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage. Here a relatively new structure: Church of Our Lady of Fatima.

Info about the church:
Build: 1957-1960
Architects: Jerzy Kozłowski, Krystian Seibert, Zbigniew Wolak.
Tower height: 45m
(source in Polish only HERE)

pajaran, adramad, pili51, PiotrF, ikeharel, ChrisJ, PaulVDV, Royaldevon, tyro, danos, Graal, delpeoples, holmertz, Angshu, COSTANTINO has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

lousat (139982) 2015-10-08 11:46

Hi Mariusz,i don't like modern churches with geometric ans serious style like that,but your post is still very interesting and well done,very sharp and bright.Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

Tue (93412) 2015-10-08 12:32

Hello Mariusz,
Beautiful modern church architecture. I really like this building for its steep roof and tall tower. You captured it really well against the blue sky and in this low light. Thanks for sharing!
Lars

adramad (73442) 2015-10-08 14:16

Hello Mariusz.
A striking composition, with the church as novel design, a geometric game in its forms, the most attractive, especially the tower is the least-watched meeting.
Excellent POV, with very good lighting, color and sharpness to enjoy the details.
Very good work. I like.
Enjoy a nice day.
Best wishes.
Luis.

Fis2 (171907) 2015-10-08 14:22

Czesc Mariusz!
Ciekawa konstrukcja tego wspolczesnego kosciola.
Jego strzelistosc robi wrazenie.
Ladnie pokazany, super swiatlo i kolorystyka.
Dobrej nocy
Krzysztof

PiotrF (55970) 2015-10-08 16:09

Czesc Mariusz
Ciekawa bryla kosciola, spodziewalem sie ze to gdzies na Podhalu, a tymczasem to Tarnow. Swietny punkt z ktorego zrobiles zdjecie, nie wchodza w kadr zadne budynki itp.Jakosc zdjecia jak zwykle perfekcyjna.
ps.zimno sie u nas robi, wiec z przyjemnoscia ogladam i przy okazji wrzucam zdjecia z Chorwacji
pozdrawiam
Piotr

pajaran (117033) 2015-10-08 22:28

Dobar dan.
Lep pogled, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepo pokazana arhitektura i detalji na fasadi, dobra ostrina i kontrast, lepo uhvacen trenutak sa svetlom sunca koje je istaklo lepotu crkve.
Lepa moderna crkva i kula.
Imajte lep i uspesdan dan sve najbolje, srecno.
Paja.

Good day.
Nice view, interesting and good text ...
Nice architecture and the details shown on the facade, good sharpness and contrast nicely captured the moment with a bright sun that highlighted the beauty of the church.
Beautiful modern church and tower.
Have a nice and successful day all the best, good luck.
Paja.

ikeharel (114569) 2015-10-08 23:51

only 99%, that's not true, really Mariusz?
Well, it is a modern neat edifice which you managed in final light of the day, came out beautifully.
Regards,
Ike

Nicou (193814) 2015-10-09 2:24

Hello

Quelle vue de cette église superbe cette architecture très moderne tout va vers le haut tout en finesse et tout est effilé splendide compo et vue.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

ChrisJ (172430) 2015-10-09 2:41

Hi Mariusz

It looks a little like the Arctic Church in Tromso, Norway. The A frame and spire to its left are good focal points. Splendid sharpness and smart choice of a vertical format. The blue sky makes a great backdrop. Tfs.

Sergiom (117241) 2015-10-09 6:47

Bonjour Mariusz,

J'aime beaucoup ce cadrage vertical. Il accompagne à merveille la ligne très élancée de cette église à l'architecture hors du commun à l'aspect très moderne.

Amicalement

Serge

PaulVDV (63456) 2015-10-09 11:57

Hello Mariusz,
Very interesting note. Your description of Polish society and the place of the church in it reminds me of the stories of my parents when they were young kids. In the context of your description of your home country today, I think that the Polish theologian, Krzysztof Charamsa, must have had a lot of courage.
With the many Poles who visit other countries these days and the high number of other fellow countrymen of yours who work abroad, things will change fast.
Actually when I visited some Polish cities in 2008, I did get a very different impression of the country than the conservative image that many Westerners do have of it. I admit I haven't seen much of the countryside.
The peaked roof of the church on the picture and the tall tower point undeniably towards heaven.
Best regards, Paul

rychem (72187) 2015-10-09 22:22

Aleś wypatrzył świetny obiekt, rzadko takie coś widzę w Polsce, smukłe, lekkie i pogodne, super
pozdrawiam Ryszard

abmdsudi (95869) 2015-10-09 22:30

Hi Mariusz
A modern design looming church with strong graphical effect and the eye popping colors contrast makes this sing creating a fine visual effect. Love the way the angle really pulls the eye deeper when it elevates it to another level in my eyes! A delightfully balanced shot, Congrats and tfs
Best wishes

Silvio1953 (222889) 2015-10-10 0:59

Ciao Mariusz, great view of original church, excellent clarity, fine details, wonderful colors and splendid light, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

emka (158784) 2015-10-10 5:29

I jeszcze ten nowoczesny kościół. Jak na obecnie budowane (tyle jeżdżę po świecie i NIGDzIE nie buduje sie tylu kościołów co u nas), które zwykle są wielkie i bardzo brzydkie, ten jest prosty, nieduży i ładny. Biały dobrze wyglada na tle niebieskiego nieba.
Nie wiedziałam, że Tarnów jest taki wyjątkowy. Najpierw biegun ciepła, teraz najwięcej katolików. Mnie kojarzy sie z Akademia Papieską, gdzie pracuje (raczej chyba pracował) wybitny fizyk kosmolog i ksiądz Michał Heller.

Pozdrawiam serdecznie

M

Royaldevon (86438) 2015-10-10 14:17

Hello Mariusz,

You have raised interesting comparisons between the clergy in Poland and other regions. I wonder if the people of Poland will slowly change, as others have done!

There have been many shots from Tarnow but this is the first of this contemporary church. It is a very striking building because of its sleek lines and chimney-like addition, supporting the cross. I find it a very pleasing shape but I know some who would believe it to be too futuristic.
You have captured the building with excellent clarity against a clear, blue sky.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

berek (50518) 2015-10-10 22:20

Dear Mariusz,
I love this vertical shooting. It goes very very slim line of this church in the unusual architecture with a very modern look. this architecture like planned with NASA :-)
Greetings.
Burak

Cricri (176) 2015-10-11 8:51

Hi Mariusz
J'aime l'architecture élancée de l'église, le fond bleu et la lumière qui la met super bien en valeur
très belle présentation
Bonifacio est une très belle région du sud, voir aussi les Iles Sanguinaires, Iles Lavezzi,
Par contre le Nord, ils y a plus a voir, tant pour les paysages et l'architectures, ( avis perso :-) mais beaucoup de personnes disent la même chose !!
belle soirée
cricri

SWEETFREEDOM (24623) 2015-10-12 0:12

Hi Mariusz,
original and interesting church.
interesting note as well.
regards
Alessandro

tyro (30513) 2015-10-12 2:00

Hello Mariusz,

As always, you have written a very interesting and thought provoking note about the decline in popularity of Roman Catholicism (and probably Christianity in general) throughout the World. I think it's rather wonderful that your home town is the global centre of education of Catholic priests: that is surely something of which to be proud.

we all tend to admire and revere ancient churches, cathedrals and other places of worship, but this very modern building is also very attractive. And you have captured it in lovely oblique lighting which very nicely emphasises the strong and simple lines of its architecture, particularly as it is beautifully and brightly portrayed against a glorious deep blue sky.

Beautiful!

Kind Regards,

John.

danos (110407) 2015-10-13 8:15

Witaj Mariusz,
a really impressive the architectural style of the Roman Catholic church,with its modern design to dominating the scene.The blue sky enhance even more the beauty as the charmy of the image.

Regards,Danos

Graal (103040) 2015-10-13 11:23

Czesc,
bardzo ladny kosciol z nowoczesna architektura. Fajna ta strzelista dzwonnica rowniez. Dobry pionowy kadr. Dobra prezentacja z Tarnowa.
Milego wieczoru.
Aleksander

delpeoples (60342) 2015-10-15 0:56

Dear Mariusz

An immaculate image, superb sharpness and management of the light and shade. The vertical frame suits the tall, thin nature of the subject matter and actually succeeds in elongating it. Well done, very pretty.

Warmest wishes
Lisa

holmertz (103596) 2015-10-17 8:33

Hello Mariusz,
This is an interesting church, quite different from most I have seen in Poland. I quite like its strongly vertical design. The photo seems to confirm your claim that the sun is always shining in Tarnów (or something like that), but when I briefly passed through a small part of your home town in late May this year the weather was rather terrible ;-).
Your note is very interesting too. It makes me realize that if I should ever decide to move to Poland (very unlikely at my age) I would probably choose another place than Tarnów ;-).
Kind regards,
Gert
PS I just returned from Cyprus but the few photos I managed are nowhere as good as yours.

gervaso (28415) 2015-10-17 9:00

Hello, Mariusz!

Different and interesting architecture of this church, and the well chosen framing is perfect to show it! The bright colors of it make a beautiful contrast with the open sky behind! Very nice composition! Excellent job!

Karolina999 (0) 2015-10-22 4:07

Dear Mariusz,
kościół całkiem dziwaczny, jak to współczesna polska architektura sakralna, ale to czyste niebo, to dopiero odjazd, w sumie efektowna fotografia.
Thanx for sharing.
Cheeers!!!

kordinator (8738) 2015-10-24 0:26

Dear Mariusz
A well composed image encompassing this attractive and interesting architecture.
Unusual catholic church.
Ideally exposed with excellent colors and clarity.
Fine texture too.
Great photos taken under excellent light.
Best regards
Saša

macjake (98544) 2015-10-24 13:20

Hi Mariusz
now that is one sharply angled church!
and it has probably the sharpest cross tower i've ever seen!

do you know if this is a common style? or is this church unique?

interesting note to go along with the subject, i'm not a religious person, so its always interesting to read about it.

cheers
Craig

Angshu (56760) 2015-11-19 0:07

Hello Mariusz
To expect such structure in Poland is kind of strange...do expect such modern structures of churches in Iceland or US
Nice postcard of the modern futuristic architecture...I cannot help looking at it for long...only the spire seems to be old.
Cool building, cool shot!
Best Regards
Angshu

COSTANTINO (117756) 2020-09-29 12:05

hello dear friend and have a nice
new day
a different photo from the usuals
with a catholic church...
strange shape and simple architectural
details very well composed...
I red carefully your useful notes...
welldone
regards
costantino