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Architectural surveys in the parish church dedicated to Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kraśnik. Kraśnik is one of the oldest cities in the Lublin region. Archaeological survey confirms, that there was a settlement in the thirteenth century in this area, with a castle and a church within the fortification walls. Construction of the oldest masonry church, later dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Augustine, was launched in the first half of the fifteenth century by Andrzej (called Rabsztyński, to distinguish him from his father) - the son of Andrzej Tęczyński. Previous and current surveys of the church in Kraśnik show that the oldest part of the temple (consisting of presbytery built of Gothic brick) was probably erected around 1448, then single-storey vestry and the strongroom were added. Before 1469 the church was reconstructed, which is attributed to Jan Rabsztyński from Tęczyn, son of Andrzej, founder of the monastery of Canons Regular, brought to Krasnik from Kraków. Another founder is Jan Gabriel Tęczyński – Voivode of Sandomierz (1527- 1541). The walls of the temple were made higher and new vaults were built, new organ gallery and pulpit were recessed, the renaissance details and design elements were added, the walls were covered with polychrome. Two family burial chapels were erected close to the organ gallery. The further fate of the church in Kraśnik were connected with the Słucki, Radziwiłł, Zamoyski families, consecutively. Particularly important is the phase of reconstruction of the church in the Baroque style in 1657 (date on the chapel), when the temple was burned and destroyed by the Swedish assault. A gothic gable above the central nave was damaged, interior required thorough refurbishment. There have been changes in the design of the facade (new gables) and interior, and also in the structure of the building (construction of the east chapel with the library and oratorio). The Church in Kraśnik, with its almost 600-years' history made of stone and brick, with clear accretions of styles, architectural elements from Gothic to Baroque has attracted researchers – historians and architects for many years. In 2007, on the initiative of the rector of the congregation in Kraśnik, preparations to renovate the facade begun. The first works related to the removal of cement plaster from the west facade of the church revealed a
well-preserved face of stone blocks forming the structure of the church walls. There were also fragments of details of Gothic decorations and the surveys on other facades confirmed the good state of conservation of stone structure of naves and brick presbytery. Analysis of the discoveries made it possible to identify the object better in terms of phases of its creation and to complement existing knowledge of its history. Surveys and archaeological works brought in more discoveries. The article discusses the results of the first stage of the survey, upon which it was decided to expose the Gothic facade of the first masonry church (currently the part including the chancel), architectural details of the early phases of construction, stone face of naves (reconstruction of a Gothic stone gable in the west facade), exposed walls inside the temple. The conservation, archaeological and architectural surveys still carried out in connection with the continued renovation and conservation of the church in Krasnik - continue to expand the knowledge about the unique and colourful history of the building construction and allow to verify some results of previous surveys.
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