Cemetery Chapel of St Barbara in Toszek

The Cemetery Chapel of St Barbara in Toszek is a late Baroque filial church of the parish of St Catherine of Alexandria, serving as a cemetery chapel. It was built between 1720 and 1750 and entered in the heritage register.

History and the building

The founder was Count Franciszek Karol Kotuliński. The church burned down in 1833 and was rebuilt in 1849. It is of brick, has a rectangular nave and a trefoil eastern part, and the interior is covered with a vault. In 2005 the church underwent a thorough restoration.

Remembrance of the NKVD camp

By the wall of the chapel, in 2000, a gravestone was placed dedicated to the victims of the NKVD camp in Toszek. It was funded by the victims' families, and it bears 12 names of prisoners buried in this cemetery after the camp, which was located on the hospital grounds, was liquidated. A bilingual inscription speaks of the release of sick and exhausted prisoners from the camp in November 1945 and of thanks to the residents and the nuns for their care.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Parkowa, Toszek.
• The chapel stands in a cemetery, so calm and respect for the place are required here. Visiting the interior depends on the parish.
• Nearby, a few hundred metres away, are Toszek Castle, the town hall and the Church of St Catherine of Alexandria.