Sensational discovery in Gdańsk: missing stained glass windows from St. Mary's Basilica found

In the Church of St. in Gdańsk. Catherine, 18 sections of the original 19th-century stained glass from St. Mary's Basilica, which was considered destroyed as a result of war, were identified.

The identification was made during inventory works of the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in cooperation with the Burzyński Conservation Studio. Information about the sensational discovery was announced on Friday during a press conference at the Church of St. Catherine.

As explained by the Pomeranian provincial conservator of monuments, Dariusz Chmielewski, after the war, the stained glass panels were sent to the conservation depot in the coach house in Oliwa Park, from where they were transferred to the Church of St. in the 1990s. Catherine.

From the 1950s until the late 1970s, stained glass windows were stored loosely in boxes, broken, almost in the form of rubble, Chmielewski said.

A breakthrough in identification occurred thanks to the use of modern, illuminated conservation tables. The last, 18th examined plot turned out to be crucial, as it discovered an inscription with the name of Franz Untrose Steffens - a representative of one of the most distinguished Gdańsk families of the 19th century.

According to conservators, the stained glass window was not dismantled during the wartime operation to protect monuments, but fell out of the window on Piwna Street during the bombings. It was then secured by unknown persons.

The state of preservation of the stained glass window requires thorough restoration work. The quarters are very damaged, (...) there are many losses - noted Katarzyna Burzyńska from the Burzyńscy Conservation Studio. In the 1990s, the quarters underwent only initial conservation, and their further use was prevented by the fire of St. Peter's Church. Catherine in 2006.

The parish priest of St. Mary's Basilica, Fr. Prelate Ireneusz Bradtke, did not hide his emotion. We were convinced that many things related to St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk were destroyed as a result of the enormous damage, he said, adding that the parish plans to formally take over the found quarters and finance their renovation from the city budget for next year.

Conservation works are scheduled to start in spring 2027, and the goal is to place the reconstructed stained glass window in the window of St. Mary's Basilica by the end of 2027. The identification of the stained glass window is part of a large-scale inventory of monuments carried out in the conservation depot in the Oliwa Park.