Castle Chapel of St Anne in Bielsko-Biała

The Castle Chapel of St Anne adjoins the Sułkowski Castle in Bielsko-Biała on its southern side. It was added in 1853-1855 on the site of an earlier chapel destroyed by fire in 1836.

A memorial to Princess Anna

Construction was begun by Prince Ludwik Sułkowski to commemorate his wife Anna, Baroness von Dietrich, who died in 1853. It was probably designed by the Bielsko architect Juliusz Appelt. The chapel became the burial place of the castle's owners, and in the crypt rest, among others, Prince Ludwik Jan Nepomucen and Prince Alfred, Ludwik's son, as well as Princess Maria Teresa née Moser-Ebreichsdorf. The heart of Prince Aleksander II is also kept there.

After 1945

In 1945-1946 the castle was occupied by the Red Army, and the crypt was opened and desecrated several times. Afterwards the building passed to the Historical Museum, and the chapel was turned into a studio of the local art school. From 1962 it served as the chapel of a parish of the Polish Catholic Church.

In the neighbourhood

The chapel stands right beside the Sułkowski Castle, and a few hundred metres away rises St Nicholas's Cathedral.

Practical information

• Location: by the southern wall of the Sułkowski Castle, on Castle Hill in Bielsko-Biała.
• Access to the interior depends on the parish; it is worth checking the hours before your visit.