The imposing Church of the Holy Trinity (Kościół św Trójcy) was built by
Franciscan monks in 1420–1514. In 1480, the Chapel of St Anne was constructed
alongside the church. Protestantism quickly spread to Gdańsk, and one of its
most ardent proponents in the region was the Franciscan friar Alexander
Svenichen. When congregations declined because of Svenichen’s activities, the
Franciscans decided in 1556 to hand the monastery over to the city as a
theological college. The head of the Franciscan order did not agree with the
Gdańsk friars’ decision to cede the monastery but the order’s petitions to the
Polish kings to have the property returned bore no result. As a result, the
church was transferred to the Protestants. The grammar school that was
established here later became the widely celebrated Academic Grammar School. It
also came to house the first library in Gdańsk. However, centuries later in 1945
it was returned to the Catholics, after the violence of World War II had reduced
it to a ruin.

The aisled church has a distinctive exterior with ornamental Gothic spires. They
crown the elongated presbytery, the façade and the walls of the adjacent Chapel
of St Anne. The presbytery, which was occupied by the friars, was separated from
the aisles by a wall. Interesting features of the interior are the many
tombstones that are set into the floor and the numerous works by Gdańsk artists.
The very fine Gothic stalls were made by local craftsmen in 1510–11. Their
carved decorations depict a wide variety of subjects, among them animals
including a monkey, a lion fighting a dragon and several birds.

The church contains the oldest surviving pulpit in Gdańsk – it dates from 1541
and is another remarkable example of local wood carving. In the north aisle can
be seen the marble tomb made by Abraham van den Blocke in 1597 for Giovanni
Bernardo Bonifacio, Marquis d’Orii, a restless spirit and champion of the
Reformation who founded the Gdańsk library. “Bones long since thrown ashore here
finally rest from their earthly wanderings” reads the poetic Latin
inscription.

Beside the church is a half-timbered galleried house dating from the 17th
century.