St John of Nepomuk Well

A brick well with a figure of the saint at its summit stands at the edge of Park Miejski in Brzeziny, opposite the Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross. It was erected in 1880 at the junction of Tadeusza Kościuszki and Piłsudskiego streets.

The structure and its function

Inside the brick casing is a well with a crank mechanism for drawing water, no longer in use. The whole is crowned by a figure of St John of Nepomuk, the patron saint protecting against floods and drowning, once commonly placed near wells, bridges and rivers.

Site of a former monastery

The well stands where a small convent of nuns operated until 1722. Local tradition speaks of an underground tunnel connecting the convent with the church on the other side of the street, and its existence was said to be confirmed by works carried out in the Lasocki family crypt. The passage itself is shown to no one today, but the legend still circulates among Brzeziny residents.

Park Miejski and surroundings

Park Miejski in Brzeziny was created after 1945 in the place of an eighteenth and nineteenth-century English garden belonging to the Lasocki family. Near the well lies a pond of glacial origin dating from approximately 10,000 years ago, with a small island in the middle. Several hundred metres further on, on Piłsudskiego street, Muzeum Regionalne w Brzezinach operates.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Tadeusza Kościuszki, on the border with ul. Piłsudskiego, Brzeziny
• Access: Brzeziny town centre, near Park Miejski, opposite the Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross
• What to expect: a brick well with a saint's figure, a disused crank mechanism, proximity to the park and pond