Dominican Church and Convent of St. James, Sandomierz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dominican Church and Convent of St. James,Shrine of Blessed Sadok and 48 Dominican martyrs, Shrine of Our Lady of Rosary |
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View from the Sandomierz Main Square
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Province | Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship / Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandomierz |
| Region | Sandomierz |
| Rite | Latin |
| Location | |
| State |  Poland |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | around 1211 |
The Church of St. James in Sandomierz is a very old and important church in Poland. It is also known as the Shrine of Blessed Sadok and 48 Dominican martyrs. People also call it the Monastery of Dominicans or the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary.
This church is one of the oldest brick churches in Poland, and possibly in all of Europe. It is also the second oldest Dominican monastery in Poland. Only the one in Cracow is older. The church has a special mix of old building styles, called Romano-Gothic. You can see beautiful brick decorations on the outside walls. Inside, the stained glass windows are very pretty. They were made between 1910 and 1918.
About the Dominican Order
This church was the second place in Poland where Saint Hyacinth started a Dominican priory. A priory is a type of monastery.
In 1260, during a big invasion by the Mongols, a sad event happened here. Sadok and 48 other Dominican friars were killed by Mongol soldiers. Because they died for their faith, Polish Dominican friars are allowed to wear red belts with their religious clothes.
The church also has a special holy picture of Our Lady of the Rosary. This title for Mary is very important to the Dominican Order. Later, after a big uprising, the Russian government forced the Dominican friars to leave Sandomierz. This happened during a time when Poland was divided up by other countries. The good news is that the Dominican friars came back to Sandomierz in 2001.
The Lesser Polish Way of St. James
This church is the starting point for a famous walking path called The Lesser Polish Way of St. James. This path leads all the way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. In the past, during the Middle Ages, this church was a very important stop for pilgrims. Pilgrims were people who traveled to holy places from Eastern and Northern Europe.
