Church of All Saints in Gliwice

The Church of All Saints is a Gothic church in the Old Town of Gliwice, and its tower is visible already from the Market Square. Together with the cross it is about 64 metres high, and inside it there is an observation terrace. It is one of the oldest churches in the city and is entered in the heritage register.

From a wooden chapel to a Gothic hall

Historians date the beginnings of the parish to around 1250. The first mentions come from 1279 and 1286, and a document of 11 November 1279 names a priest, Henryk, probably the first parish priest. The original church was wooden and stood on the same spot. The dedication to All Saints appears in sources from 1467.

The present church was built in 1450-1504, as shown by the date 1504 above the main portal. It is a three-aisled hall church with a three-bay chancel closed on three sides and a four-bay nave, counted among the Gothic hall churches of Silesia. The tower was added at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries as the last stage of the work. At the base it is square, with very thick walls and corner buttresses, and higher up it becomes an octagon with a gallery. A fire in 1601 destroyed the furnishings and the roofs, and in the 17th century the original brick-and-stone surfaces of the walls and pillars were plastered. The church owes its present appearance to the renovation of 1929-1942, when the walls were faced with machine-made brick and the tower's helm was given a crenellated shape.

Interior

The chancel is covered by a net vault, and the side aisles have star vaults supported on octagonal pillars. The high altar is early Baroque, from the second third of the 17th century, with rich carving in the auricular style. In the Chapel of Our Lady, from the second half of the 15th century, Gothic wall paintings from 1470 have survived, uncovered in 1933-1938. They show the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Arrest, the Last Supper and the Deposition from the Cross. The Chapel of the Holy Cross has a late Baroque altar from the second half of the 18th century, and the pulpit is Rococo, from the 18th century.

The treasury holds a monstrance made in 1687 by the goldsmith Hans Georg Kolbe. The organ from 1941 was built by the firm Gebrüder Rieger of Krnov and has 57 stops. The earlier instrument, the work of the Wrocław organ builder Moritz Robert Müller from 1852, was dismantled in 1937.

The tower and observation terrace

The terrace on the tower, set up in 2004 with the participation of PTTK, is at a height of 57.5 metres. In good weather you can see from here Góra Świętej Anny, the Western Beskids and the Jeseníky. The large cross at the top was put up in 1950 for the 700th anniversary of Gliwice. Entry to the tower is possible only on set dates, so the dates must be checked on the parish website.

Nearby

The church lies in the heart of the Old Town, a few minutes' walk from the Piast Castle and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Right next to it is also Villa Caro.

Practical information

• Address: plac Wszystkich Świętych, Gliwice.
• Dates for entering the tower and current information are given on the parish website.
• The tower has two stair turrets with spiral staircases in which mason's marks have survived.