The Church of the Visitation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, otherwise known as St. Mary's Church, is a church, is one of oldest buildings in Warsaw and one of the few surviving examples of Gothic architecture in the city.
St. Mary's Church stands on the site of an ancient pagan place of worship. The church's foundation stone was laid by Janusz I the Old, Duke of Masovia and his wife, Danutė of Lithuania, in 1409. The church was consecrated in 1411. It has been modified, demolished and rebuilt several times. Originally it had one nave, was made of bricks, had a ceiling and an arch presbytery, before the end of the 15th century it was transformed into a three nave basilica.
The church's most striking characteristic is the tower, built in 1518. It is recognizable from a great distance and is depicted in the oldest images of Warsaw.
During World War II, the church was severely damaged by German forces - the roof of the nave collapsed and the upper portion of the tower was blown up. It was reconstructed in 1947-1966 to the design by Beata Trylińska.
Behind the church is small park with a set of steps that lead down to the Vistula and the so named Kościuszko banks of the river. In the square there are outdoor theatre performances and concerts which are organized locally.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.