Church of St Joseph in Ujsoły

The Church of St Joseph the Worker stands in the centre of Ujsoły, at the junction with the road to Złatna. It was built in stages from 1922 to 1975 to a design by the Kraków architect Wacław Krzyżanowski.

Fifty years of construction

People began to think of a parish and a church of their own in Ujsoły in 1911, because the residents then belonged to the parish in Rajcza. The building site was blessed in March 1913, when Mass was also celebrated in the chapel U Koconia and the land for a cemetery was blessed. The foundation stone was blessed in 1922 by Bishop Adam Stefan Sapieha. One of the donors was Archduke Charles Stephen of Habsburg.

Work started in 1922 but was interrupted in 1925 for lack of money. Midnight Mass was celebrated in the church in 1927, and in 1953 a German organ was brought in. The church was consecrated on 30 June 1963 by Bishop Julian Groblicki. Work continued into the 1970s; sources give 1975 as the year of completion, and sometimes also 1939.

Form of the church

The architecture is vernacular and refers to the type of a village church. The plan was put together from the plans of the Church of St Stanislaus in Chmielów and the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Tarnowska Wola. The square-plan tower narrows towards the top and ends in a decorative helmet roof. The façades are covered with rustic stone, the walls are buttressed, and the nave has a wooden ceiling.

Inside stands a post-conciliar altar from 1974 and a two-manual organ with sixteen stops and pneumatic action, renovated in 2010 and 2022.

Practical information

• Address: centre of Ujsoły, at the junction with the road towards Złatna.
• The church is a parish church, so the interior is open outside services. Hours are given by the parish.
• Nearby is the Glinka Geo-Park, about 2 km from the church.