Church of All Saints in Górki Wielkie

The Church of All Saints in Górki Wielkie is a Gothic parish church from the 15th century, standing on the right bank of the Brennica. It is entered in the heritage register and is additionally protected by a Natura 2000 area, because bats live in its attic.

The Gothic church and its history

The church was built in the 15th century in the Gothic style on the site of an earlier chapel. It was rebuilt in 1662 and in the 19th century, and in 1779, in the time of the Marklowski family, it was renovated. After the Second World War the church was thoroughly renovated, and in 1980 the interior polychrome paintings were made by the Morawiec brothers.

What to see inside and around the church

Inside is preserved a late Gothic stone sacristy portal with the coat of arms of the Górecki family. The former font from the 17th century, founded by Jan Górecki, now serves as a holy water stoup. The pulpit is Baroque, from the 18th century, and the high altar and most of the decoration date from the 19th century. In the brick entrance gate is set the tombstone of the village owner Henryk Górecki, who died in 1682, and in the church grounds is the grave of Erdman Marklowski, of whom a tombstone from 1765 survives.

Bats of the Natura 2000 area

The Natura 2000 area is called Kościół w Górkach Wielkich (the Church in Górki Wielkie) and covers the church together with its immediate surroundings. It is one of the most valuable bat sites in the region: in August the colony of greater mouse-eared bats numbers about 190 individuals, and that of lesser horseshoe bats about 75.

The cemetery by the church

Next to the church, on a small rise called Kępka Prochaskowa, lies a cemetery founded in 1858, with a stone cross from 1900. Buried here are the writer Zofia Kossak and her husband Zygmunt Szatkowski, their son Juliusz, her father Tadeusz, and the folk writer Walenty Krząszcz. The writer is commemorated by the Zofia Kossak-Szatkowska Museum in Górki Wielkie, about 2.3 kilometres from the church.

Also close by, in the same village, is the Franciscan Monastery in Górki Wielkie.

Practical information

• Address: Pod Zebrzydkę 4, Górki Wielkie (Brenna municipality).
• This is an active parish church. The rules for entering the interior and the church grounds are given on the parish website wszystkichsw-gw.pl.
• Because of the bats the Natura 2000 area is protected, so keep the surroundings quiet.