H. St. Barbara’s Chapel with a shelter and a hospital
St. Barbara's Chapel is the last building on the northeast side of town. According to sources gathered, we know that it was erected in the 16th century. It functioned as a religious building until 1809. On the engraving by Jan Aleksander Gorczyn, we can see a building with a steep, sloping roof, topped with a turret with a cross.
During excavations conducted in 2015 at the intersection of Nadrzeczna and Jaskrowska Streets, the foundations of a religious structure were discovered, which was identified as Church of St. Barbara, known from written sources, iconographic and cartographic representations. There was a cemetery by the church. Only its fragments, located to the west and south of the sanctuary, have survived. Several hundred graves were uncovered and surveyed, as well as pits and trenches containing human remains from graves destroyed after the necropolis was closed. Anthropological studies of the skeletal remains showed that more than 3,000 people were buried in the excavated part of the site. The origins of the church cemetery are not precisely known. It is only known that it ceased to operate in 1825. The foundations of another facility, unknown in terms of its function – probably a wooden, unconsecrated chapel associated with the first 16th century foundation – and a treasure of 17th century silver coins (presented at the exhibition) were also discovered on the site.
