Neo-Gothic minor basilica in Bogucice from 1892-1894, a Marian shrine with an image dating from around the 15th century, entered in the heritage register.
The Basilica of St Stephen and Our Lady of Bogucice is a neo-Gothic parish church in the Bogucice district of Katowice, entered in the heritage register. Since 2015 it has had the title of minor basilica, and it is also a Marian shrine where the image of Our Lady of Bogucice is venerated.
This is the third parish church in Bogucice. It was built in 1892-1894 after the old church was pulled down in 1891. The construction was initiated by Fr Ludwik Skowronek, and the task had been planned earlier by the parish priest Leopold Markiefka, who donated 6 thousand marks for the purpose. Until completion, services were held in a temporary church set up in a converted presbytery barn. The church was consecrated on 25 October 1894 by Cardinal Georg Kopp, Bishop of Wrocław. The design is generally attributed to Paul Jackisch, but the researcher Przemysław Piwowarczyk questions this. Among the rejected concepts was an overly monumental design by the Viennese architect Hugo Heer, later used for the Church of Sts Peter and Paul in Gliwice.
The church is built on a Latin cross plan. The façades are of red facing brick, and the ground floor and decoration of stone. The northern façade has a single tower, with a portal decorated with a tympanum containing stained glass and a mosaic. The tower has a pyramidal spire with pinnacles, and clocks.
The interior is a three-nave hall with a transept. The vaults are cross-ribbed, and star-shaped above the crossing of the nave and transept. The floors are of stone, and the side walls are lined with blue and brown ceramic tiles.
The high altar resembles a Gothic reliquary or monstrance. At its centre is the image of Our Lady of Bogucice, painted around the 15th century on a lime-wood panel measuring 101 by 79 cm and repainted several times. It has been in the high altar since 1954, and on 4 June 2000 it was solemnly crowned with papal crowns blessed in Gliwice by John Paul II. The main Marian celebrations take place on the first Sunday of June.
The side altars are dedicated to the patron saints of miners and steelworkers: St Barbara stands against the backdrop of a mine, and St Florian against the Upper Silesian landscape, with a steel-casting scene. The organ was built by the Świdnica firm of Schlag & Söhne, and in 1915 it was extended to 45 stops by the firm of Joseph Goebel of Königsberg.
By the basilica stand six sandstone figures from the mid-19th century, left from the previous church. To the east lies the parish cemetery, the oldest necropolis in Katowice, mentioned in 1598. Nearby are also the Silesian Museum and the Silesian Theatre.
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