St. John of Jerusalem Outside the Walls Church in Poznań

The Church of St. John of Jerusalem Outside the Walls, located in the Komandoria district of Poznań, is a historic late Romanesque temple once under the care of the Knights of Malta and now serving as a parish church. The history of the site dates back approximately 2,500 years, when a cremation cemetery existed here. The first wooden church was built at the end of the 11th century, and in 1187 it was handed over to the Order of St. John. Over the centuries, it underwent numerous reconstructions, blending Romanesque and Gothic architectural elements. The church features a two-nave layout, massive buttresses, and a tower with an asymmetrical roof. The western portal is adorned with Romanesque columns, above which stands a statue of St. John the Baptist. Inside, visitors can admire late Gothic vaults, frescoes depicting the Evangelists, and a triptych from around 1520. During World War II, the church was used as a storage facility, but it was rebuilt after the war, preserving its Romanesque character. A major renovation carried out between 2017 and 2018 uncovered fragments of a pre-Christian wall. The church treasury houses valuable goldsmithing artifacts, including a late Gothic monstrance and a chalice from 1518. The church remains an important center of local culture and spirituality, with its history deeply intertwined with the activities of the Order of St. John and the local community.