St. Alexander's Church, Warsaw

St. Alexander's Church Kościół Św. Aleksandra (in Polish)
St. Alexander's Church, on Three Crosses Square, Warsaw.
General information
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Town or city	Warsaw
Country	Poland
Construction started	1818
Completed	1825
Demolished	1944 rebuilt 1949–52
Design and construction
Architect	Chrystian Piotr Aigner

St. Alexander's Church (Polish: kościół św. Aleksandra) is a Roman Catholic church on Three Crosses Square in Warsaw, Poland.

The church was established by the grateful citizens of Warsaw to commemorate the tsar Alexander I of Russia, who conferred the Constitution to the Kingdom of Poland. It was constructed in the years 1818–25 in Neoclassical style. The foundation stone was laid on 15 June 1818 by Minister of State Treasury Jan Węgliński, replacing indisposed General Józef Zajączek, Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland. The temple was consecrated on 18 June 1826 by primate Wojciech Skarszewski and constructed on a circular ground plan covered by a dome, often referred to as the rotunda. The inspiration for the external shape of the shrine was Pantheon in Rome. The main altar was adorned with oil painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz depicting Crucifixion of Jesus.

In 1886–95 the church was rebuilt in Neo-Renaissance style, resulting in a much larger building with two prominent towers and a large dome. The contest for the reconstruction design was announced on 14 April 1883 and the construction was entrusted to the author of the victorious design Józef Pius Dziekoński. The original rotunda was enlarged by adding three naves from the Ujazdowskie Avenue and two towers, enhancing the walls and the dome. The southern portico was embellished with relief of Blessing Christ among the Indigents and Cripples by Jan Kryński and sculptures by Teofil Gosecki. With these changes, the building became one of the largest in Warsaw.