North-east of Rzeszów, the Bernardine monastery in Leżajsk is home to the famous organ dating from 1693, complete with its 5,900 organ-pipes. The 17th century monastery is a work of an Italian master Pellaccini.
Erected between 1618 and 1628 by Antonio Pellacini, the Bernardine Church in Lezajsk, a city located in a highly picturesque corner of the Sandomierz Valley, is famous for its impressive organ. The instrument, produced in the years 1680-82 and 1686-93 with funds provided by the Potocki family, was built by organ masters Stanislaw Studzinski of Przeworsk and Jan Glowinski of Krakow. The Baroque body of the instrument has no equal. The Lezajsk organ is also unique for the figures that adorn and surround it. The central section of the arrangement depicts Hercules battling Hydra among other symbols of the eternal struggle of virtue against vice and figures that personify the bravery of Polish chieftains and soldiers. The side sections of the instrument are adorned with motifs related to the stories of the Mother Mary and the saints Francis and Bernard. One particularly interesting element is the clock face whose moving hands remind us of the merciless passage of time. A crowned eagle, on the other hand, indicates the royal protection that extended over the Bernardine order. The instrument in Lezajsk has an amazing, highly refined sound and is one of the largest monuments of its kind in the world.
