Medieval Friar Minor Church in Brzeg – from the second half of the 13th to the beginning of the 16th century

Abstract

This paper presents the results of interdisciplinary research that was carried out in the Friars Minor church in Brzeg. At first, monastery and church architecture is discussed and reference sources are analysed. The authors’ considerations are based on architectural and archaeological research, on the analysis of technology, construction material and architectural detail as well as on iconographic studies the authors have carried out. They form the grounds for the presentation of the medieval church that consisted of a three-span chancel and a two-aisle four-span nave, which was built at the end of the 13^th century. The church was subjected to transformations in two phases. During the first phase, in the 2^nd half of the 14^th century, an altar bay was added and the south aisle was enlarged. During the second phase, at the turn of the 15^th and 16^th centuries, the church was reconstructed after a fire. In the summary, the authors set the stylistic transformations of church architecture in the context of the trends that developed in Silesia in the Middles Ages.