Saint Andrew Bobola's Church is located in downtown Bydgoszcz, Poland, on Kościelecki Square. Its patron saint is the Polish Jesuit Andrew Bobola. The edifice, completed in 1903, was designed by German architect Heinrich Seeling. It was registered on the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Heritage List on December 15, 1998. History First temple The first religious edifice on the site is associated with Bydgoszcz becoming part of the Prussian territory, as a result of the First Partition of Poland in 1772. One of the first decrees signed by Frederick the Great, following this event, on October 5, 1772, was the creation of an evangelical parish in Bromberg. At the time, very few Protestant German families lived there, but as a result of the colonization associated with the construction of the Bydgoszcz Canal and the establishment of a local garrison, things quickly changed. Catholics in 1815 accounted for only 40% of Bromberg population and only 25% from 1850 to 1920. The first Lutheran service was celebrated on April 12, 1773. Until 1787, the Mass was performed in an attic room of the old town hall. In 1784, a new church building was begun, thanks to funds from the Prussian state. The project was designed by architect Paul Johann Greth and completed in 1787, with consecration on January 21, 1787. Decoration and building continued, of the altar in 1788 and in 1794 of a wooden belfry carrying three bells, cast in Berlin the year before. Neglected, the church was closed in 1829, as it threatened to collapse. In 1833 and 1869, two heavy overhauls were performed, including extensions such as the rectory building from 1839 (today the seat of the Evangelical Parish in Bydgoszcz, at Waly Jagiellońskie street, 14). After the second half of the 19th century, other churches began to appear, to meet the needs of the growing Protestant population, among others: St Peter's and St Paul's Church (1872-1878); Church of Divine Mercy, at 68 Nakielska street; Church of the Savior (1897). The old church was destroyed in 1903 to allow the creation of today's Teofila Magdzińskiego street. At the same spot now stands the city market hall at 4 Podwale Street, built in 1906. The bells from the belfry were moved to a church in nearby Osielsko. Current building The current church building was erected between 1901 and 1903, on the plot where once stood the city castle erected in 1346 by order