Church of St Hedwig in Jeżowa

The Church of St Hedwig is a Roman Catholic branch church in the village of Jeżowa in Lubliniec County. It belongs to the parish of the Holy Trinity in Ciasna. Its history shows how long a small village waited for its own church.

From a chapel to a church

From the mid-17th century, for about three hundred years, Jeżowa belonged to the parish in Sieraków Śląski, seven kilometres away, and earlier to the one in Lubecko. Because of the distance, the farmer Lorenz Ochman built a brick chapel in 1881, mainly with his own labour, and gave it to the village. Services were held in it irregularly.

Construction of the present church began in 1958, and it was consecrated in 1960. The furnishing was completed in 1964, when the village passed to the parish in Ciasna.

A tower after almost half a century

The communist authorities did not issue a permit for building a tower, because a military unit was based in the area, in Przywary. The tower was completed only in November 2008, after seven months of construction. The renovation in 2007-2013 was co-funded from the Rural Development Programme.

Interior and memorial plaque

The interior is decorated with rich polychrome paintings. The church holds a damaged organ, unused for more than a dozen years. In the porch hangs a plaque in honour of two priests: Józef Malich, parish priest in Ciasna in 1963-1969, and Alfons Rolnik, parish priest in Sieraków in 1932-1965 and the builder of this church.

Practical information

• Location: the village of Jeżowa, Lubliniec County.
• The church is a branch church, so service times are best checked with the parish in Ciasna.
• Nearest are the Palace in Patoka (about 3.5 km) and the church in Sieraków Śląski, to whose parish the village belonged for three hundred years.