This former Dominican Church is one of the oldest churches in the city. Even before Poznań received city rights, the Dukes Przemysł I and Bolesław the Pious in 1244 in the village of St. Gotthard founded a monastery for Dominicans that had been brought here earlier. The walls of the nave and the moulded brick portal date back to that period. Baroque arches and decorations originate from the time of the reconstruction conducted by John Catenazzi at the turn of the 17th and 18th century. The Baroque tower, added to the construction, also dates back to that period.

Almost since its inception, the cult of Our Lady of the Rosary has been associated with the Dominican church. At the end of the 15th century, one of the oldest confraternities of the rosary in Europe was established at the church. On the initiative of the confraternity, a chapel was built in which the painting of Virgin Mary was placed (the painting to be admired at present was painted in 1631, founded by Jakub Sztypler). The sanctuary was visited by a number of pilgrims, and votive offerings started to appear around the image. Precious 17th century silver plaques depicting 15 Mysteries of the Rosary date back to that period. The heyday of the sanctuary lasted until the Swedish invasion of Poland (1655-1660). In the period of the Partitions of Poland the dissolution of the monastery took place, the monastery buildings were demolished, and its assets were distributed. The silver plaques mentioned above were bought by Tytus Działyński in the middle of the 19th century. An altar was made of them, at which the Holy Mass was celebrated at the time of the swearing-in ceremony of the Polish army during the Greater Poland Uprising (1918-1919). Currently the altar may be admired in the castle in Kórnik.

In 1920 the monastery became the property of the Jesuits, who, after World War II (1939-1945), took successful efforts to gain compensation for Mary's crowns robbed by the Nazi. Re-coronation of the image was done by the Metropolitan Bishop of Poznań, Antoni Baraniak on October 12, 1968.

In the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary a bronze tombstone of Feliks Paniewski is also located, made approx. in 1500 in the workshop of Peter Vischer in Nuremberg. During World War II it was taken away by the Nazi and for years it was believed to be irretrievably lost, just like the tombstones of the Górka family from the Cathedral in Poznań. Unexpectedly, the tombstone was found in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

In the church special attention should also be paid to the mannerist steel backrests made in the first half of the 17th century by Krzysztof Redell. They depict the scenes from the life of St. Jack and St. Dominic.

In one of the side altars a painting of Our Lady of Borgia is placed. It is a copy of the image of Our Lady of the Snows from the Roman Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, painted to the order of Francis Borgia.

In the former Dominican church the "Tale of the Three Hosts" of Poznań originated.

Address:
ul.Szewska18
61-760 Poznań
tel. no. +4861 852 50 76