Poznań Fara

The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Poznań Fara
The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Poznań Fara
Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mary Magdalene and Saint Stanislaus
Fara Poznańska ( Style;
Years built	1651–1701
Specifications
Length	55 m (180 ft)
Nave width	34 m (112 ft)
Height	27 m (89 ft) (nave)
Number of spires	2 (façade)
Administration
Archdiocese	Poznań

The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Poznań Fara (

Blessed Virgin Mary and is one of the city's most recognizable historical landmarks, the most important Christian temple alongside the Poznań Cathedral and the finest example of Baroque architecture preserved within the country. ^[2]

Its full name is the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Saints Mary Magdalene and Stanislaus of Szczepanów. It is currently part of the Latin Church Archdiocese of Poznań.

Built between 1651 and 1701, the structure was engineered by Polish and Italian masters in the Baroque style, who also incorporated

Second World War

.

Minor Basilica

via decree on 17 June 2010.

History

In 1570, Bishop Adam Konarski brought the

Swedish Deluge (1655-1660) suspended the work. In 1705, the Fara was consecrated, despite the Church being incomplete. In the years 1727-1732 Pompeo Ferrari remodelled the main entry and the interior, thus bringing the final phase of construction to an end.^[5]

Following the 1773 fire and the 1780 collapse of the nearby Mary Magdalene Collegiate Church, the Fara became the new seat of the Poznań clergy. In 1913, the entire complex was renovated; the work was cut short by World War I. During the Invasion of Poland and World War II, the Fara was spared but stripped of its rich ornaments and turned into a warehouse by the Wehrmacht. War damage was cleared by 1950.^[6]

Alleged Phantasm

According to pious legend, a phantasmic woman dressed in black funeral garments appears on the hardly—accessible organ balcony. The ghost was sighted on many occasions, which was often featured in television media and news coverage.^[7]

The haunted woman is purported to have donated a large monetary sum to purchase the organ in the 1870s but was betrayed by her male romantic lover and became accursed to guarding the instrument due to

heartbreak, which remains locked and off—limits to tourists.^[8]