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Owinska

Owinska (Ovenecum) ? Wielkopolskie province, commune Czerwonak, Diecese of Poznan. The daughter house of Trzebnica. The Abbey of Cistercian Sisters since 1250 till its secularisation in 1835. The convent was founded by the dukes of Wielkopolska (Greater Poland), Przemysl I and Boleslaw Pobozny (Pious), most probably before 1250. The church as well as the convent to which the sisters moved from Trzebnica were gothic brick buildings. In the first half of the 18th century there were new buildings built in Owinska. First the the architect was Giovanni (Jan) Catenazzi (some parts of newly constructed buildings burnt down) and then Pompeo Ferrari. Relics of the gothic buildings preserved in the campanile and foundations. During archaeological excavations that are carried out around the church and the convent there have been found remains of medieval building ceramics. There is a rich baroque furnishing still to be seen in the church, including beautiful frescoes by Adam Swach, illustrating lives of the Cistercian Sisters from Owinska. In the first half of the 19th century, after secularization of the convent, the Sisters were moved to Olobok. Today, the church serves as a Roman-Catholic Saint John the Baptist Parish Church, while the Special Educational Centre for Blind Children occupies the post-convent buildings.