About This Location
St Martin’s Church stands on Piwna Street, pressed into the tight fabric of Warsaw’s Old Town. Next door is the convent of the Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Cross, a quiet religious house with a very active mission. The church’s story reaches back to the 1300s, when the Old Town was still taking shape. It began as part of an Augustinian complex, and for centuries it served not only prayer, but also public life. On Mazovia’s political calendar, this was a serious address. Local assemblies were held here, bringing nobles and officials into the same nave where ordinary parishioners came to worship. The building also changed with fashion and wealth. By the 1700s the church received a more theatrical baroque-rococo look, with a redesigned facade and a richer layout than the earlier Gothic form. Like many Old Town churches, it became a place where art, status, and devotion met. A special devotion here is linked to an image of the Virgin Mary known as Our Lady of Consolation. It connects the church to a long tradition of people coming with private fears and hopes, looking for comfort rather than spectacle. Then came 1944. The Old Town was destroyed, and St Martin’s was left in ruins. After the war it was rebuilt, but the interior was kept simple and modern, a clear sign that this is a church restored after catastrophe, not a museum set piece. Today the convent next door adds another layer to the story. The Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Cross are closely associated with care for blind people, inspired by the work of their founder, Róża Czacka, and the famous center in Laski near Warsaw. It makes this corner of the Old Town feel both historic and practical - a place where old walls still shelter everyday service.