Church of St Lawrence and St Casimir the Prince in Rajcza

The Church of St Lawrence and St Casimir the Prince towers over the market square in Rajcza. It is a brick, three-aisled church of 1886-1889, and since 1997 also a local Marian shrine, one of four in the Żywiec region.

From a wooden church to a brick one

The first church in Rajcza came into being under a privilege of King John II Casimir Vasa of 1669; the wooden church was built in 1674, and the tower was added in 1693. In 1884 it was closed because of its poor technical condition. The new church was built in 1886-1889 to a design by Karol Pietschka, and the contractor was Edward Stachurski. The initiator was the parish priest Father Andrzej Kulig. The building material from the old church was used to build the cemetery chapel, and from the former church a ridge turret with a bell of 1677 has survived.

Architecture and interior

The church is eclectic, with an interior that recalls Romanesque and Gothic. It has three aisles of the hall type, eight bays and a transept, and above the porch a tall tower with a clock. In the two-storey high altar is the image of Our Lady of Casimir, called the Madonna with a plait; it was crowned in 2017. The organ of 1897 was made by the Lviv firm of Jan Grocholski. In the right aisle stands a Baroque font from the old church, and the stained-glass windows in the chancel show, among others, St Michael and St Casimir.

On the way to the mountains

Rajcza is a good starting point for the Żywiec Beskids. In the area lies the PTTK mountain hut on Hala Boracza, and in neighbouring Milówka the "Stara Chałupa" Museum.

Practical information

• Address: Rynek 1, Rajcza.
• A working church; information on visiting the interior is given by the parish.